Rebirth in 1972: Redemption in Changbai Mountain

"My second sister graduated from junior high school and is very capable at housework. She's the best at taking care of her younger siblings. Zhou Rui, would you like to meet her?" A sister-in-law who had just married into the family also chimed in.

"Ruiwa, I don't have a daughter, but my Tie Niu is about the same age as An'an. How about we arrange a marriage between our children?" Zhao Tie Niu's mother was a thoughtful woman. She was holding her seventh son and loudly proclaiming this.

I saw the Zhou family's assets yesterday, they're so rich! And they dote on their younger sister so much, if their Tie Niu marries An An, the dowry will definitely be huge.

Zhou Rui looked around, pretending not to hear. Did he think just anyone could marry his sister? She was smart and adorable; how could that naked, snotty-nosed Tie Niu possibly even dream of her?

On the Zhou family's side, seeing that Third Master Zhou had been defeated, Zhou Dashu had no choice but to step forward. Although he wasn't a cadre, being a third-level worker at the county steel plant was quite intimidating.

However, he did not go directly to Zhou Rui, but went to Zhao Youzhi's place first.

Zhou Dashu took out a pack of Yingchun cigarettes from his pocket and gave one to each of Zhao Youzhi, Zhou Shumin, and Zhao Changshan.

This cigarette was quite prestigious among ordinary workers, and Zhou Dashu himself thought that Zhao Youzhi and the others would really appreciate it. Unexpectedly, Zhao Youzhi and Zhou Shumin simply accepted it but didn't smoke it, just held it behind their ears, while only Zhao Changshan lit it with interest.

Zhao Youzhi had smoked all sorts of high-end cigarettes, including Daqianmen, Hongtashan, and even Zhonghua a few times. He never hesitated to give Zhou Rui any cigarettes he had.

Zhou Dashu didn't take it seriously, thinking that Zhao Youzhi wanted to keep it and was reluctant to light it.

"Uncle Zhao, does this matter really have to go through the police? Can't it be resolved privately?" Zhou Dashu paused for a moment, then said, "My older brother said that as long as it's resolved in the village, his family is willing to accept any punishment. Whether it's being forced to do hard labor or giving some compensation to Ruiwa's family, my older brother will accept it."

Looking at Zhou Dashu's haggard appearance, Zhao Youzhi knew that he had rushed back overnight in the wind and snow. He might have cleaned up at home just now, but it was still obvious that he hadn't slept all night.

Zhao Youzhi didn't have any particular impression of Zhou Dashu, nor would he deliberately target him, so he had no choice but to tell him the truth.

"Big Tree, it's not that I insist on reporting to the police, but the situation leaves no other choice."

"Zhou Chen and his gang's actions were truly despicable, causing widespread panic in the village. Several thousand yuan! How could they do such a thing?"

Every family in Kengan has a few hundred yuan hidden away. If those guys were still in the village, who would sit still?

"Especially the educated youth in the designated settlement, whose homes are close to Ruiwa's, and there are no other houses nearby. So these educated youth are particularly worried. Yesterday, they even came to me saying they want to move to the village and ask the village to build them a new educated youth compound. Do you think that's possible?"

Zhou Dashu pondered for a moment: "Then I'll try to find them temporary jobs in the city so they can leave the village for a while. Would that work?"

Zhao Youzhi shook his head: "This matter is like a thorn stuck in the hearts of the villagers. Unless they are sent to the government for a lesson, this prejudice will probably never disappear."

"But the most important thing is actually Ruiwa's attitude; he's the biggest victim. Ever since your older brother, he's been eyeing his family's house and job. And with Zhou Chen, he's even trying to empty his house. Do you think he'll back down?"

Zhou Dashu gritted his teeth, somewhat resentful of Zhou Dashan, who had really offended Zhou Rui. He himself was just a little selfish; after becoming a worker, he didn't want to associate with his relatives in the countryside anymore.

I never expected his older brother to be both wicked and stupid, even scheming against his own family.

"I'll go talk to Ruiwa, Uncle Zhao, please wait a moment."

Seeing Zhao Youzhi nod, Zhou Dashu turned and walked towards Zhou Rui.

"Ruiwa, your third uncle has something to say to you. Let's go over there."

Zhou Rui remained motionless: "Third Uncle, just say what you have to say here."

Zhou Rui and Zhou Dashu had no conflict of interest; they didn't hate each other, but they still harbored some resentment.

In his past life, Zhou Rui had also sought out his third uncle, hoping he could help find Xiao Niangao, but his third uncle only gave him a cold, indifferent door.

Two months ago, he even refused to save his own sister's man, which made Zhou Rui realize Zhou Dashu's true character even more clearly. Zhou Rui wanted nothing to do with him in this lifetime.

Looking at Zhou Rui's cold and hard face, Zhou Dashu realized that Zhou Rui was no longer the boy who cried in front of his second brother's coffin a few months ago.

This is a man who can shoulder the burden of the family. He is an equal opponent to me. Apart from being a generation older than him, I have no other way to deal with him.

"You are still a member of the Zhou family, your grandfather's grandson, and our nephew. There's no need to treat him like an enemy. Let your cousin go and don't seek revenge..."

"If you still hold the same view, I advise you to stop talking." Zhou Rui interrupted Zhou Dashu directly, echoing the same line of thinking as Zhou Yeye, offering nothing new.

Zhou Dashu was interrupted by Zhou Rui, and his temper flared up immediately: "How can you be so cold-blooded? Don't you care about family at all? Are you going to cut yourself off from your family? How can someone like you stand in the village in the future? Who will dare to befriend you?"

Zhou Dashu's voice immediately drew the attention of the surrounding crowd. Everyone gathered around, wanting to hear what the uncle and nephew were arguing about.

"Heh...!" Zhou Rui was speechless. Does being loud justify something? I can do that too.

"You dare talk about family ties? Ever since the whole family paid for you to get a job in the county town years ago, how many times have you come back? When my father was still alive, my grandparents said they were too weak to work in the fields, so my father gave them fifteen catties of grain every month. How much did you give them?"

"When my father passed away, you came back once, but before the burial, you left three yuan and went back to the county town. You're talking to me about blood ties and family affection?"

"My uncle was guarding the crops during the busy farming season when a wild boar stabbed him in the stomach. My aunt went back to her parents' home to borrow money for his treatment. How much did you give her?"

Zhou Rui's voice grew louder and colder, each word like a knife stabbing into Zhou Dashu's heart.

"You, a level three worker, paid eight yuan, my grandparents paid two yuan, and my uncle paid three yuan. The money from all three families combined is still less than the fine Zhou Chen was fined at the town hall last time."

"Me," Zhou Rui patted his chest, "my aunt's nephew, he paid a hundred yuan."

"You dare talk to me about blood ties? You think you're worthy?"

After Zhou Rui's outburst, he not only tore off Zhou Dashu's hypocritical and cold-blooded face, but also stripped Zhou Jiutian and Zhou Dashan of their dignity, throwing them to the ground to be trampled on by the crowd in the mud.

After hearing Zhou Rui's explanation, everyone realized that the last time Old Zhou's daughter came to borrow money to save her life, she had only borrowed this small amount. In the end, it was Zhou Rui, her nephew, who valued relationships and took on so much of the burden alone.

This time, everyone in the village looked at Zhou Dashan and Zhou Dashu differently. It's best to avoid this kind of family in the future; they won't even help their own sister—do they have any humanity left?

Zhao Youzhi also looked at Zhou Dashu with a strange expression. He never expected that the promising person he thought would be able to find a job in the city after graduating from high school would turn out to be like this.

Zhou Jiutian had originally been observing the situation from the sidelines, but he never expected that he would end up getting involved. He quickly took advantage of the moment when no one was looking, covered his face, and hurriedly pulled Zhao Xiumei away.