Rebirth in 1972: Redemption in Changbai Mountain

In the Zhou family's courtyard, An'an opened the door again after a while, peeked out, and opened the door dozens of times a day.

Since the snow stopped, An'an has been repeating this action over and over again, only to be disappointed each time.

They've been gone for so many days, An'an can't even count them on one hand, it feels like a long time has passed.

"An'an, don't go out, it's cold outside," Zhou Ping said softly, holding Xiao Niangao.

"I'm not cold, look, I'm already wearing clothes." An'an proudly showed off her Suen.

"But I still haven't seen my second brother come back. I miss him so much." As she said this, An'an's mood instantly plummeted, and her braids drooped down.

Zhou Ping stroked An'an's hair: "Don't be like this, your second brother went out hunting to earn money. He'll earn lots of money to buy you pretty clothes, delicious snacks, and fun things..."

"I don't want it anymore, I don't want any of this. I just want my second brother to come back." An'an buried her head in Zhou Ping's arms, leaning against the baby Niangao in her swaddling clothes.

Little Rice Cake chuckled, thinking An'an wanted to play with her, so she ruffled An'an's hair with her hand and rubbed her mouth against An'an's face.

However, An'an wasn't in the mood to play; she just held the little rice cake tightly in her little hands and didn't move at all.

De...de...

The sound of hooves could be heard outside, growing louder as it approached.

"Ah!" An An suddenly raised her head, and a few strands of her hair got tangled in Xiao Niangao's hand and were accidentally pulled off.

"Hiss..." An An felt a pain in her head, but she didn't care and turned around and ran outside like a gust of wind.

Crash... Bang! The door was suddenly pushed open and then slammed shut with a loud thud.

"Second brother, second brother..." The little boy ran quickly out of the courtyard before he could even see anyone.

Riding on the big mule, Zhou Rui felt no joy at returning home, even the strong wind couldn't dampen his spirits. The cold wind only made him feel a chill. With his own yard just ahead, Zhou Rui could no longer hide the smile on his face.

"Second brother, second brother..."

As the call came, a fairy-like figure appeared, dressed in bright clothes, the only color in the vast expanse of white snow.

"An'an, slow down." Zhou Rui lifted the veil, revealing even brighter colors.

No sooner had the words left his mouth than a round body plopped down on the snow.

Zhou Rui quickly jumped off the mule's back, took two steps forward, and pulled up An'an, who was dressed like a ball.

"How are you? Did you hurt yourself?"

"Hehe... It's nothing, you see."

As she spoke, An'an wanted to turn around and show Zhou Rui. However, she was wearing too many clothes and became unbalanced, so she fell to one side.

Zhou Rui quickly grabbed An An by the collar and lifted her to her feet.

"Hehe..." An An tilted her head and smiled a little shyly.

Zhou Rui bent down and looked at An An's body. He found no signs of injury, only some snowflakes on her body, and finally breathed a sigh of relief.

He took off his gloves and pinched An'an's little cheek: "You can't be so reckless in the future, okay?"

"Hehe... I understand." An'an opened her eyes wide and nodded repeatedly.

"Let's go back." Zhou Rui put the reins on the mule's back, picked up An'an and walked into the yard, with Mao Dazhuang following behind him.

"Didn't you go out today?"

"I didn't go out. I'm waiting for my second brother at home." An'an hugged Zhou Rui tightly, her warm breath on his neck, afraid that her second brother would run away if she wasn't careful.

At this moment, Zhou Ping came out carrying Xiao Nian Gao.

"Second Brother, you're back?"

"Ah, ah, chirp."

Zhou Ping simply greeted him, a hint of joy in his eyes. Little Rice Cake, on the other hand, kept bouncing around, leaning forward repeatedly, wanting Zhou Rui to hug him.

Zhou Rui hesitated for a second, then smiled and reached out with his other hand to hug Xiao Niangao.

The wound on my shoulder is a little painful, but it's bearable.

"Let's go inside, it's windy outside."

Zhou Rui's voice wasn't loud, but when Zhou Ping heard it, it felt like a warm current spreading through his body, instantly putting him at ease.

Zhou Rui is now the head of the family, a towering tree like a father, sheltering the family from wind and rain. Whenever Zhou Ping returns home, he feels confident.

"Second brother, did you encounter a blizzard? You had just stepped out that day when Grandpa Zhao came to the door, saying that Sesame Grandpa had detected a blizzard and asked me to inform you."

I contacted Brother Dazhu, and he rode his bicycle to Wangjiazhuang, but he still couldn't catch up with you.

Zhou Rui never expected that these things would happen in the village after he left, and that Sesame Grandpa would accurately predict the blizzard three days later.

It seems I really need to ask Sesame Master before going out in the future to avoid a lot of trouble.

"Yes, we ran into them, but we're perfectly fine. Uncle Wang found a cave beforehand, and we stayed there for a few days."

Zhou Rui glossed over the blizzard in a lighthearted manner, without mentioning the battle with the spies at all.

"Is everything alright at home? The snow on the roof looks very clean, just a thin layer. Did you do this?"

Zhou Rui sat on the kang (a heated brick bed), pulling the two children, one big and one small, closer to his arms. Both children were quiet, and even Xiao Niangao (the little boy) didn't make a sound to disturb Zhou Rui and Zhou Ping's conversation.

"I helped out a bit, but it was mainly Dazhu and Jianguo who came and cleaned it. The snow hadn't stopped yet, and there was already a thick layer of snow on the roof. They braved the heavy snow and cleaned the roof."

Zhou Ping explained in detail that this was a task Zhou Rui had assigned him: to keep a record of who in the village had helped his family each time. These were huge favors, and he would have to repay them in the future.

Zhou Rui nodded. Zhao Dazhu was no exception; he and Zhou Rui were practically half-brothers now, so it wasn't surprising that he came to help.

Liu Jianguo is the leader of the third production group, and it is his duty to help the villagers in the third group.

But he and Zhou Rui did have a good relationship. When they were first clearing the land, Zhou Rui gave him some advice, and he helped Zhou Rui a lot, both openly and secretly. They were close friends.

"Okay, I understand all of this." Zhou Rui silently noted it down in his mind.

"Second brother, what's in your bag? It's so heavy." An'an stood up after her second and third brothers finished explaining and began to pull on Zhou Rui's backpack.

"It's all snacks and desserts, wine, and four bear paws. Little Rice Cake will be one year old next month, and I'm planning to treat everyone to a drink. I'll save the bear paws for cooking that day."

"Let me see, let me see, what delicious food is available?" An'an's eyes lit up as she reached out to untie the ropes.

"Hehe... An'an, didn't you say you didn't want your second brother to buy anything, and that you just wanted him to come back?" Zhou Ping teased An'an from the side.

An'an wrinkled her nose at Zhou Ping: "Second brother is back now, so of course we can buy some delicious food."