Rebirth in 1972: Redemption in Changbai Mountain

"Just wash it off, wash away the mud, and it won't look so bad. He Wei, hurry up, don't be lazy." Yang Ping waved the net, spouting nonsense with a straight face. Even if you wash the frog clean, it's still ugly.

"I wasn't slacking off, I was just asking a question. Also, I'm older than you, so you should call me Sister He Wei."

He Wei didn't take Yang Ping's criticism to heart; she was in a good mood today, so she let it slide for now. Ignoring the fact that her gloves were soaked, she kept throwing the frogs she had found into the bucket one by one.

Looking at the numerous holes in the ice and the harvest in the buckets, Zhou Rui realized it was quite a lot, several times more than last time. It seemed this gourd-shaped body of water was indeed rich in resources.

"Let's call it a day, this is enough for us to eat."

"Not enough, not enough, let's fish a little longer. Look, we haven't caught any more over there yet." Yang Ping had no intention of stopping at this point; she hadn't had enough fun yet, and her desire to play was even greater than Zhou Ping's and the others.

"But it's almost lunchtime, and these frogs still need to be cleaned with hot water. Boiling the water takes a long time, and then they need to be stewed, which also takes time. I'm afraid you'll go hungry."

"It's alright, let Pingwa take Ping'an and the others back to wash. You continue digging the ice cave for us, and we'll continue fishing."

As Yang Ping spoke, she glared at Zhou Ping, as if to say, "I've taken good care of you all the time, so you should cooperate and make sure I have a good time."

Zhou Ping, being quite tactful, said, "Second Brother, Ping An, Shunli, and I will take An'an and Xiao Niangao over to wash the toads first."

As Zhou Ping spoke, he winked at Liu Ping'an and Liu Shunli to fetch the water bucket, while he bent down to hug the little rice cake rolling in the snow.

Unexpectedly, the little rice cake wouldn't let him hold her. She rolled over to An'an's feet, grabbed An'an's clothes, and tried to climb up to stand up on her own.

Unfortunately, his clothes were too thick, and he couldn't even stand up. In the end, he squatted down and fell backward.

"Haha... Little Rice Cake, what's wrong with you?" An'an watched as Little Rice Cake struggled with its limbs, but couldn't roll over no matter what it did, and laughed so hard that its waist bent over.

"Come here, let Auntie help you." An'an smiled and reached out to take Xiao Niangao's hand.

Unfortunately, she overestimated herself. Perhaps when she was wearing fewer clothes, she could easily pick up Xiao Nian Gao. But on the smooth ice, she herself was a ball, and with a slight effort from bending over, the two of them rolled into a ball.

As expected of Caucasian Shepherds, Maoqiu and his dogs rushed to their aid when they saw their little owner fall.

Three little puppies used their tiny teeth to bite the coats on An'an and Xiaoniangao's arms, trying to pull them up.

Unfortunately, she was too weak and her direction was wrong. Just as An'an was about to stand up, Mao Tuan pulled her trouser leg, and she fell flat on her face again.

"Haha..." "Hehe."

The girls were laughing hysterically. Zhou Rui's two kids were so funny. Were they going to put on some kind of show for them?

"Second Brother!" A irritable little voice rang out, "Are you still standing there watching? Hurry up and help me up!"

"Eh~#……￥&Hmm……" Little Rice Cake was perfectly fine and thought An'an was playing with her. Excited, she climbed onto An'an, making it even harder for An'an to get up.

"Hehe..." Zhou Rui chuckled and bent down to pick up Xiao Niangao from An'an, only to be met with An'an's big, puffed-up eyes.

"Second brother, you're still laughing? I'm getting angry."

Zhou Rui instantly suppressed his smile, but his expression looked awkward no matter how you looked at it. Zhou Rui stuffed the little rice cake into Zhou Ping's arms before pulling An An up.

"Look at Zhou Rui, his face is so funny. No matter how powerful he is, he still has to be obedient in front of An'an." Yu Sitian chuckled softly in Lin Qiuyue's ear, her warm breath tickling Lin Qiuyue.

Lin Qiuyue's eyes crinkled into crescent moons with laughter: "Yes, An'an is very capable, but Xiao Niangao is even more capable."

Little Rice Cake's playful mood was interrupted, and she was throwing a tantrum in Zhou Ping's arms. She kept scratching at Zhou Ping's head with both hands, and Zhou Ping, hurt by her scratches, dared not move.

"An'an, come with your second brother to the fire to warm up. Look, your clothes are all wet on the outside." Zhou Rui patiently patted the snowflakes off An'an's clothes, his voice gentle.

"Okay, Second Brother. But you have to come over quickly, I'll miss you." An'an hugged Zhou Rui's arm and rubbed her face against his clothes.

Zhou Rui exerted even more effort in the next few ice caves. He had no choice; his An'an was still thinking of him, so he had to speed things up and finish as soon as possible.

Lin Qiuyue and the others were so engrossed in playing around that they didn't notice Zhou Rui's speed at all, assuming it was just normal.

Another half hour passed, and the bucket was filled with frogs again. Yang Ping, this energetic girl, finally showed a satisfied expression.

"Let's go, let's head back home." Yang Ping handed the net to Lin Qiuyue and then went to pick up the bucket.

This is her spoils of war; she put in a lot of effort today, and she won't just sit around doing nothing. Unlike He Wei, who was only focused on playing and didn't do any work.

For some reason, she just didn't like He Wei and always thought she was too pretentious.

When they returned to the campfire, the frogs were already stewing in the pot, and even though they weren't fully cooked, they were emitting a faint aroma.

"Sister Qiuyue, you're back!" An'an ran out to greet them with a smile.

Yang Ping flashed in front of Lin Qiuyue and stood in front of her: "An'an, look how many toads I caught!"

Yang Ping took all the credit for herself, claiming it all as her own.

"Wow, Sister Yang Ping is amazing, she caught so many again."

An'an is very good at providing emotional value. With her short legs, she hopped around and clapped her hands, her sincere tone making Yang Ping's face bloom with joy.

Yang Ping was very satisfied. Although An'an's praise wasn't eloquent, children don't lie. If she said I was amazing, then I really was.

Yang Ping threw the bucket on the ground, ignoring it. She picked up An'an, and the two sisters, so different in age, went to whisper to each other.

Zhou Rui walked over, picked up the bucket, and followed the others to the fire.

He opened the pot lid, and it was already crammed full of frogs; there wasn't enough room for them. Keep in mind, this was a ten-inch pot he'd bought, almost a meter in diameter.

Never mind, let's take this bucket back and give it to them to eat tomorrow.

Everyone sat together around the fire, chatting happily, while the pot made a bubbling sound—the sound of boiling water.

Glug glug...

"Sister Yang Ping, your stomach is rumbling!" An An blurted out, making Yang Ping blush.

"hehe……"

"What are you laughing at?" Yang Ping reached out to pinch Lin Qiuyue.

"The toads will be here in a while. You guys eat some roasted sweet potatoes to fill your stomachs first," Zhou Rui said, using a stick to pull out a few dark, charred things from under the fire.

Don't be fooled by its filthy appearance; once you break it open, the steaming red flesh inside will appear before your eyes, and it smells incredibly sweet.

"Soup, sugar, hot..." Yang Ping was so burned that she couldn't even straighten her tongue.