Rebirth in 1972: Redemption in Changbai Mountain

Zhou Rui settled the mule in and then started cooking. He made Flying Dragon Soup for An'an and the others, adding mushrooms today; it would definitely taste better than the soup they make in the mountains.

There was also a piece of fresh moose meat. Although it wasn't as delicious as sika deer meat, it was still quite good when braised.

Just as we were busy, An'an and Zhou Ping returned. An'an rushed straight into the house.

"Sister Qiuyue, Sister Sitian, I'm back."

Since being pampered and spoiled by Zhou Rui a few months ago, An'an has let herself go and become a tomboy.

"Second brother, you're back!" An'an was overjoyed to see Zhou Rui standing by the stove with a spatula in his hand, and rushed over to him.

Zhou Rui quickly dropped the spatula and hugged An'an. An'an's hair was flying wildly and messy, her little face was flushed, and there were red scratches on her hands.

"Where have you been? Look at how dirty you are!" Zhou Rui's voice was gentle, with a hint of doting.

"I went to skate on the ice. My third brother tied the sled with a rope and swung it around so hard I flew up and then fell right off. Haha...it was so much fun."

An'an told Zhou Rui about the thrills of the ice games, showing no fear whatsoever, but rather an excited and unsatisfied air.

Zhou Rui glared at Zhou Ping, who had followed him in, and scolded him for not taking good care of his sister and for taking her to play some exciting games.

"Hehe..." Zhou Ping scratched the back of his head and quickly turned to go into the inner room, not wanting Zhou Rui to teach him a lesson.

He ran quite fast, and seeing Zhou Ping slip away like a mouse, Zhou Rui didn't bother to chase after him. Instead, he bent down and touched An An's back, feeling that her clothes were soaked with sweat.

"Go quickly to the inner room and ask your sister Qiuyue to wipe the sweat off your back with a dry towel. Otherwise, if you catch a cold, you won't be able to go out to play, and Uncle Changhai will have to give you an injection in your butt."

"I don't want to! The shot hurts!" An'an hugged her little bottom tightly in fright. She had seen her friends cry and scream when they got shots.

"Sister Qiuyue, my second brother wants to give me an injection. What should I say about him?"

Zhou Rui watched An An's carefree figure, shook his head, and couldn't help but find it amusing; she was even going to complain to someone now.

"What's wrong? What's wrong?"

Lin Qiuyue had no idea what was happening in the kitchen. He only saw An'an come in, clutching her bottom, to complain to him.

An'an grabbed Lin Qiuyue's arm and shook it: "Second brother said I'm sweating on my back and will catch a cold, so he'll give me a shot in the butt. Go and scold him."

Lin Qiuyue found An'an's coquettish manner incredibly adorable, and her heart melted. Her worries about her parents and her own situation eased considerably.

I carried An'an, who was bundled up like a dumpling, onto the kang (heated brick bed), took off her cotton-padded coat, and touched her back; it was indeed soaked through.

"Your second brother is very powerful. I wouldn't dare to scold him. What if he spanks my bottom?" Lin Qiuyue said while wiping An'an's sweat, teasing her as she did so.

"Oh? You're afraid of your second brother too. Sigh..."

"Who's talking bad about me?" Zhou Rui came in carrying a large basin containing two stewed dragons.

"Ah!" Lin Qiuyue exclaimed in surprise.

Did Zhou Rui hear me say he would spank me? What if he heard me say something so embarrassing? Lin Qiuyue lowered her head, her ears turning red instantly.

"Wow, what kind of soup is this? It smells so good!" Yu Sitian's exaggerated voice rang out, shattering Lin Qiuyue's preconceived notions.

Lin Qiuyue looked at the two boneless birds and a few soaked mushrooms in the basin, and was also a little curious, since she had never seen this dish before.

"This is pheasant soup. It should be made with hen broth as a base, but we didn't have any old hens at home, so we didn't use any."

Zhou Rui explained to everyone, but he didn't mention that the method Liu Kangri taught him required adding ginseng and deer antler. Not only did he not have these at home, but even if he did, he wouldn't dare add them, fearing a nosebleed.

"What is a flying dragon?" Lin Qiuyue turned her head and stared at Zhou Rui, her eyes filled with curiosity.

"The scientific name for the pheasant is Hazel grouse, which was a tribute item during the Qianlong era. The 'dragon' in the common saying 'dragon meat in the sky and donkey meat on the ground' refers to it."

"Zhou Rui, you're really generous! You even managed to get your hands on royal tribute. It must have been very expensive, right?" Yu Sitian gave a thumbs up. Her family was considered relatively wealthy in Shanghai, but they couldn't just casually afford such tribute.

"It's not that expensive, it's just that these flying dragons are rare, and it's hard to encounter them on ordinary days. We were just lucky to catch one this time."

Zhou Rui spoke calmly; he didn't care much about things that were expensive for ordinary people. He still had over ten thousand yuan in his cellar; what was a few dozen yuan worth of flying dragons?

"Wait here, there are still two dishes that haven't been served yet. I'll go to the kitchen and bring them over, then we can eat."

There were only three dishes on the table: pheasant soup, braised venison, and stir-fried shredded potatoes with vinegar. There weren't many dishes, but each one was very generous in portion.

"Is it delicious?" Zhou Rui asked with a smile.

The pheasant soup was incredibly delicious; even An'an, who doesn't usually like soup, drank a whole bowl. Zhou Rui soaked the pheasant soup in rice and fed the little rice cakes bite by bite.

"It's delicious! This dragon meat from heaven is just different!" Yu Sitian said with great satisfaction.

Lin Qiuyue was the same, she just didn't say it, but every time she took a small sip, her eyes would squint into a crescent moon.

Zhou Ping was different. He only filled a small half-bowl, gulped it down in one go, and then started eating large chunks of meat. The braised venison looked so tempting that it was hard to put down one's chopsticks.

Slap slap slap! The little rice cake across from us couldn’t stand seeing a lump of orange meat dangling in front of us and then being eaten by someone else, so she slammed her hands on the table and pointed her finger at Zhou Ping.

"Is Little Rice Cake angry? Does she want to eat meat?" Yu Sitian asked curiously. She had taken care of her younger siblings when she was little, but they were already several years old, and she had never taken care of someone this young.

Zhou Rui put down his bowl, picked up a large piece of rice cake for Xiao Niangao, and tore it into small pieces by hand to feed him.

"Yes. Little Rice Cake is growing up and has developed her own thoughts. She wants to try everything that adults are eating."

"Little Rice Cake will be one year old soon, right? Have you decided what name to give her?" Lin Qiuyue suddenly asked.

"Isn't Little Rice Cake just called Little Rice Cake? Why do we need to give it another name?" An'an held her bowl, her face covered in rice grains as she ate.

Zhou Rui wiped the rice grains off An'an's face with his fingers: "Little Rice Cake is a nickname, but we need to give her a formal name. Just like you, your nickname is An'an, and your formal name is Zhou An."

"Would you like to name Little Rice Cake?"

An'an shook her head: "I haven't learned enough characters, Second Brother, please take them."

Zhou Rui picked up the small rice cake from the kang (a heated brick bed), placed it in front of him, and stared at it without blinking.

Little Rice Cake didn't know what Zhou Rui was going to do. She looked at Zhou Rui, then at the shredded meat in her hand, somewhat reluctant. But she still grinned and stuffed the shredded meat into Zhou Rui's mouth.

Zhou Rui didn't hold back at all, biting Xiao Niangao's hand, making Xiao Niangao giggle from the tickling sensation.

"Your smile is so warm, like the winter sun, so I'll name you 'Nuan' (meaning 'warm'). Zhou, Nuan."

"Zhou Rui, I've discovered you're really good at naming. 'Little Rice Cake' sounds nice, but 'Zhou Nuan' is also good. In the future, we can call her Nuan Nuan, just like we call An An."

"Really? Can I really call you Nuan Nuan? An An, Nuan Nuan, it sounds so nice."

An'an was very happy to hear Lin Qiuyue's words. She walked over from the kang (a heated brick bed) and hugged Xiao Niangao's face, giving her a bunch of kisses.