Rebirth in 1972: Redemption in Changbai Mountain

Wang Xinghua finally managed to dress Xiao Niangao, working up a sweat in the process. She then arranged the two of them sitting side-by-side against the wall, admiring them from every angle, finding them incredibly beautiful.

"Ruiwa, look, doesn't it look like her? Isn't it beautiful?" Wang Xinghua showed off her work.

"So cute. I'll take Yan'er away later. I want to take these two chubby babies and wander around the village." Zhou Rui looked at Xiao Niangao and Yan'er, imagining himself holding the two babies while the villagers kept praising his niece.

"Okay, you can take her out. I'm exhausted from taking care of Yan'er every day, this afternoon is a good time to rest."

Wang Xinghua didn't care at all and was happy to be relaxed. Zhou Rui treated Yan'er better than her father treated her, otherwise why would Yan'er cling to Zhou Rui every time he came?

Little Rice Cake obediently acted as a model, but her godmother still wouldn't take off her coat, even though she was unbearably hot.

Unexpectedly, Little Rice Cake suddenly braced himself on the kang (a heated brick bed) with both hands, like a little tiger: "*&%jigu&@#yiya, du..."

Yan'er tried to imitate her and roared, but before she could even make a sound, her arms went limp and she collapsed onto the blanket.

"Haha..." Wang Xinghua laughed from ear to ear. Her daughter was really funny, and she even wanted to lash out at her mother.

"Hehe..." An'an laughed along, thinking that the little rice cake looked a bit like a fluffy ball barking at her, so cute, and she felt really awesome.

Maotuan was playing with two other puppies in the yard when it suddenly paused, wondering if someone was thinking about it.

Zhou Rui quickly went over and picked up Yan'er. Didn't she see that little Yan'er couldn't even roll over? And she was just standing there watching the commotion. I've never seen a mother like that.

Zhou Rui took off his leather jacket, which was quite thick and soft. In just a short time, he was already sweating.

"Hey..." Yan'er took off her coat, and seemed to feel much lighter. She smiled at Zhou Rui and reached out to slap his face.

Zhou Rui moved his head forward, forehead to forehead with Yan'er, avoiding her little hands, which would have poked his eyes. He took a slight breath, and smelled the strong, milky scent of a baby.

"Pfft...%￥*#...Sizzle..." Little Rice Cake got angry and forcefully tore at her leather jacket. Are you all just ignoring me?

Seeing that Xiao Niangao's face was covered in sweat, Wang Xinghua took off her clothes and found a dry towel to wipe their necks and backs.

Zhao Dazhu came in carrying peanuts in one hand and a bottle of wine in the other.

"Ruiwa, come on, have a drink." Two enamel cups were filled to the brim.

Zhou Rui handed Xiao Yan'er to An'an before sitting down and casually picking up a peanut. Not bad, at least there was a dish.

Wang Xinghua placed the small rice cake next to An'an, adding another load to An'an's load.

"You two keep drinking, I'll go cook some dishes."

"Thank you, sister-in-law. Don't make too much, just enough to go with the drinks."

"That won't do. We can't just let the two of you eat while An'an and I go hungry." Wang Xinghua ignored Zhou Rui; she had her own ideas.

"Come on, let's have a drink." Zhao Dazhu didn't even eat any peanuts before starting to drink.

Ding, slurp...

"Ruiwa, do you know? The night you went up the mountain, something else happened in the village, and it caused a bigger uproar than what happened to you."

Zhou Rui was speechless. "I've already gone up the mountain, what could I possibly know? I'm not a fortune teller."

"I don't know. Who does it involve?"

"Widow Zhao from the village. This is some serious gossip, wow..."

Zhou Rui lost interest immediately. He was tired of hearing about the flirtatious widow Zhao's numerous scandalous affairs, which were constantly being sung throughout the village. He only wanted to know about Zhou Chen.

Fortunately, the Zhao in this widow Zhao's name wasn't the Zhao from the village; otherwise, given her behavior, her parents wouldn't have been able to leave the house at all.

Zhao Dazhu, for some unknown reason, excitedly gulped down a mouthful of baijiu.

"Listen to me, isn't this widow Zhao relying on the men in the village to support herself and her mentally challenged son? That night, she opened the door, and there were two people there, the father and son. Guess who they were?"

Zhao Dazhu gets excited whenever he talks about this, especially since he's talking to Zhou Rui, who knows absolutely nothing about it.

"There are hundreds of people in this village, how am I supposed to guess?"

Zhao Dazhu didn't care about Zhou Rui's attitude: "It was Chen Ye who brought his eldest son, Chen Feiyue, to the door."

"Isn't the Chen family currently arranging a marriage for Chen Feiyue? Why would Chen Ye bring his son to the widow's house? And even if the father and son went together, how did the villagers find out? Is someone specifically watching Widow Zhao's house?"

Seeing that Zhou Rui asked three questions in a row, Zhao Dazhu thought that Zhou Rui was interested in what he was talking about, so he talked even more enthusiastically.

"You're always out and about, so it's normal that you don't know. Do you know why Chen Feiyue is in such a hurry to go on blind dates? It's because he was so scared when you guys were fighting the jackals that he peed his pants, and as a result, his penis got damaged."

"His family was anxious, so they arranged blind dates for him, but it didn't work out, and there was no reaction. So Chen Ye took his son to Widow Zhao's house, saying it was some kind of stimulation therapy."

"Even if Chen Feiyue has health problems, how did you know?"

"Don't rush, let me explain slowly." Zhao Dazhu picked up his cup and looked at Zhou Rui with a smile.

Zhou Rui had no choice but to agree. He thought to himself, "Who's in a hurry? I just want you to finish what you were saying so I can ask about Zhou Chen."

"A while ago, Chen Feiyue had taken a liking to a girl from another village, and then they had a meal at his house. His family consisted of two people who hunted, so their conditions were quite good, and the girl quickly fell for him."

The two found a secluded spot that day to explore their relationship further, but Chen Feiyue couldn't keep up. The woman then left, cursing and swearing.

She even said that no matter how well-off the Chen family was, she wouldn't agree; she didn't want to live a life of widowhood. Many people in the village heard this that day, and naturally, the news spread.

Zhou Rui was stunned. Had he not spent enough time in the village? How come he hadn't heard of such an exciting story before?

"Where were we? Oh, right. Chen Ye brought his son to our home for treatment, I guess you could call it treatment." Zhao Dazhu answered himself.

"They were doing their business in the room when Chen Datou showed up, bringing with him a small piece of smoked meat weighing about two pounds. There were other people in Widow Zhao's room, so naturally she couldn't receive Datou."

Meat? Could it be the piece I cut off the one I gave to Chen Datou?

Seeing that Zhou Rui didn't speak, Zhao Dazhu assumed that Zhou Rui was engrossed in listening.

"Chen Datou probably drank too much and thought that Widow Zhao looked down on him and wouldn't let him in. In a fit of anger, he kicked the door bolt off and started cursing, which attracted the neighbors and caused the explosion."

"The village has been quite lively these past few days, with many people talking about it."

Zhou Rui remained calm, picking up a peanut and putting it in his mouth: "They caught us red-handed, and nobody in the village is going to do anything about it?"

"What? You're not interested in something this interesting?" Zhao Dazhu looked at Zhou Rui's somewhat frustrated expression.

My story was so captivating, yet it failed to move Zhou Rui. Was it because it wasn't exciting enough? Or did Zhou Rui want to hear something a little more risqué?

"How can we handle this? It's not the first time. If we deal with her, what will happen to her mentally challenged son? Besides, this will damage her reputation, and it won't look good in the village if word gets out."

Zhou Rui nodded. It seemed the village officials had already discussed it and were handling it the same way as before: giving it the cold shoulder.

Just then, a chubby little hand slipped into the wine glass while the two weren't looking, then quickly pulled it back and put the finger in its mouth.