Rebirth in 1972: Redemption in Changbai Mountain

"Ruiwa, what do you say?" Zhao Youzhi had no choice but to ask Zhou Rui.

"I don't know, but I didn't see Qian Fulai when I got back, only the three of them. I have a conflict with Qian Fulai, but I wouldn't say things like that."

Zhou Rui remained calm, as if that were the truth of the matter. Moreover, the villagers all knew about the feud between Zhou Rui and Qian Fulai, so Zhou Rui's statement must mean he genuinely hadn't seen anything.

Zhou Rui was determined to sow discord within their small group. Qian Fulai was just the first step; next, Zhou Rui would also instigate a conflict between Zhou Chen's family and Chen Dabiao's family.

We still need to rely on Chen Datou. We can give him a little something to sweeten things up first, and then have him add fuel to the fire with Chen Dabiao's parents.

Hearing Zhou Rui's words, Zhao Youzhi had no choice but to say to everyone, "Since no one saw Qian Fulai involved, and he's not among those caught red-handed, let's leave it for now. Take Zhou Chen and the others back, and we'll wait for the police to investigate tomorrow."

"Village chief, village chief, please don't call the police! If you do, my Da Biao and Er Biao will be finished!" Seeing this, Chen Qiang squeezed through the crowd and blocked Zhao Youzhi's way.

"Yes, village chief. Have a change of heart, lift a finger, and just punish them in the village. Make them clean up the night soil for a month. No, no, no, three months, okay?" Li Xiujuan was no longer being harsh; she cried loudly from afar, pleading with Zhao Youzhi for mercy.

Only Zhou Dashan still had a grin on his face: "Village chief, look, Ruiwa didn't suffer any loss, and they're cousins, even if they're broken, their tendons are still connected. Why don't we just let it go?"

Zhao Youzhi felt an intense disgust for Zhou Dashan at this point. Even after all this, he was still trying to downplay the matter. Was this really a trivial family matter? The stolen goods alone amounted to more than three thousand yuan, and he had been caught red-handed by Zhou Rui and the educated youth.

Zhao Youzhi didn't want to pay any attention to him: "Get a few men and pull them all away. Zhou Chen, Chen Dabiao, and Chen Erbiao, lock them up at the brigade headquarters. No matter who pleads for them, it's useless. This matter is too big for me to handle. Let the police and the government handle it."

So the group of people walked back to the village in a grand procession. The matter wasn't over yet; everyone wanted to continue watching the excitement.

Zhou Rui didn't go; he was tidying up the things on the ground. You can't put stolen goods back, can you? What if someone takes them if you leave them in the yard? Who's responsible then?

However, when he saw Chen Datou about to leave, he quickly stepped forward and whispered something when no one was looking.

After hearing this, Chen Datou nodded and then followed the group.

The educated youth were about to leave, but Zhou Rui quickly stopped them.

"Don't go, don't go. Thank you all so much for your bravery in catching the thief and preventing my family from losing our property. I, Zhou Rui, don't know anything else, but I'd like to treat you all to dinner tonight to express my gratitude. I hope you won't mind."

After speaking, Zhou Rui even bowed, making sure to save face for everyone.

This delighted the educated youth. They were all young people of similar age, at an age where they cared a lot about their image. Zhou Rui had flattered them immensely and even offered to treat them to a meal. He had given them both face and substance, so how could they not be satisfied? Even Wei Dazhi and Xu Jun, who had some conflicts with Zhou Rui, had nothing to say this time.

However, while it's important to save face, a little humility is still necessary.

So Meng Huaiyuan took the lead, and the other educated youth helped out, all of them refusing.

"Not at all, we are all educated youth under the red flag, this is what we should do."

"Yes, the Supreme Leader said that bad elements should be treated like enemies, and they should be swept away like autumn leaves and completely defeated."

"There are so many of us, how could we possibly come to your house for dinner?"

"No, you must eat. I'll feel bad if you don't."

"No, there are too many people; your house can't accommodate everyone."

"Yes, you must. Otherwise, if you feel uncomfortable eating with me, I'll cook a few dishes and deliver them to your former educated youth compound later, and you can eat by yourselves."

After some back and forth, it was finally decided that Zhou Rui would cook a few dishes to express his gratitude, and then the group of educated youth said goodbye and left.

Zhou Rui watched the people leave and finally breathed a sigh of relief. This back-and-forth struggle was much more tiring than his performance in front of the villagers. It seems he's still not quite used to it.

"Second brother, our fence has fallen down, what are we going to do?" An'an looked at the courtyard wall with a big hole in it, her face full of bitterness.

"It's alright, I'll pack up in a bit. It's too cold outside, you two hurry up and take Xiaoniangao inside," Zhou Rui urged.

"Hehe... Second Brother, you arranged this all along, didn't you?"

Zhou Rui glared at Zhou Ping: "Keep this to yourself. Don't talk about it outside, you hear me?"

"Hehe... I'm very tight-lipped, I absolutely won't tell. I'm just secretly happy that Zhou Chen always bullied us before."

"Alright, alright, hurry up and go inside. You're not cold, but Xiao Nian Gao is." Zhou Rui pushed the group into the house.

After Mao Mao entered the yard, she immediately went to lie down in the doghouse, but the three puppies refused to rest and kept circling around Zhou Rui's feet.

"An'an, take your three puppies away from here. They're just causing trouble."

"Hehe... Furball, Fur Ball, Edamame, come here, don't cause trouble, or I'll spank you."

An'an was holding one in each hand, but without a third hand, she couldn't manage to hold them all. She'd let go of one, grab the other, and then the other would run away.

In the end, Zhou Ping couldn't stand it anymore and carried one of them into the house. Only then did An'an happily run into the house with one in each hand. The two dogs kept whimpering, but it was no use, because their mother, Mao Mao, had already covered their eyes with her paws.

Zhou Rui was trying his best to put the scattered mud bricks back on one by one. There were some broken ones that he couldn't do, so he could only pile up snow blocks and pour some water on them to cover them up for now, and then he would fix them in the spring.

At this moment, Chen Datou came over, but he walked somewhat furtively, constantly looking around, as if afraid that someone would discover him.

Zhou Rui found it somewhat amusing; it wasn't like he had done anything wrong, so what was there to be afraid of?

"Big Head, come here right now. What are you doing sneaking around like that?"

"Hehe... I'm not afraid someone will see and know that I tipped you off. By the way, Ruiwa, according to seniority I'm your uncle, so don't always call me 'big head'."

Zhou Rui laughed: "Do you think you have the demeanor of an elder? You expect me to call you uncle? No way."

"By the way, why did you call me back?" Chen Datou didn't mind, since none of the kids in the village had ever called him "uncle."

"Here, this is for you. Use it sparingly." Zhou Rui pulled a burlap sack from the wall; it was the same one Zhou Chen had used when he stole things from Zhou Rui's house.

Chen Datou reached out and lifted it; it was a bit heavy. He opened it and his jaw dropped. Inside was a carton of cigarettes—Daqianmen brand—two bottles of Fenjiu liquor, and a piece of cured meat weighing seven or eight jin (approximately 3.5-4 catties). Zhou Rui had prepared everything for him, from food to drinks.

"Ruiwa, you're very particular. I'll be going now." Chen Datou couldn't wait to go back and try this fine wine. He had never drunk wine that cost 1.5 yuan a bottle before.

"Wait, I have a few more words to say to you," Zhou Rui called out to Chen Datou.

"Is there anything else?" Chen Datou turned around.

Zhou Rui pulled out another bottle of liquor. It wasn't a particularly good one, but it was decent enough, being bottled and costing six mao a bottle of strong liquor.

"I think you could take this bottle of wine to Chen Qiang's house tonight and offer him and his wife some comfort."

Chen Datou held the wine bottle, lost in thought, not understanding what Zhou Rui was up to, and really couldn't figure it out.

"Ruiwa, what do you want me to say when I go to his house?"

"No need to say anything, just give some advice. Just talk about the difference between the principal offender and the accomplice in a case, and also ask if they can confess to anything else that could help them get away with their crimes."

Chen Datou's eyes lit up: "I understand, you want to make Chen Qiang and Zhou Dashan fight like dogs, so that..."

"Shh... Some things are better left unsaid, just understand them."