Rebirth in 1972: Redemption in Changbai Mountain

"Where are you going? Other people are going to work, what are you going to do with your skinny arms and legs? Isn't the village enough trouble for you? Don't go and cause trouble for your fifth uncle."

The eldest sister-in-law of the Gu family appeared silently behind Gu Yubao and precisely pinched one of his ears with two fingers.

"Ouch, ouch, ouch, Mom, let go, I won't go, okay?" Gu Yubao cowered quickly, without even the slightest resistance, showing that her status at home was really low.

Zhou Rui simply watched without offering any advice, after all, it wasn't appropriate for Sister-in-law Gu to interfere in disciplining her own son.

"Sir, no rush. Let my brother finish breakfast before you go to call for help. I still have to go to the forest farm later, so I have plenty of time."

"You eat your food, don't worry about Shaoting. He's fine at home anyway, he can go and inform everyone before coming back to eat."

Gu Shaoting held an empty bowl, looking at his father with a hint of helplessness. It seems the younger one is still the most spoiled. For Gu Shaofeng's sake, I don't even deserve to eat breakfast.

Gu Shaoting didn't say anything, but simply put down his rice bowl, turned around, and left.

A short while later, the entire Gu family got up, and Li Yumei came in carrying the child.

"Ruiwa, is Shaofeng alright?"

"Hmm, sister-in-law, Senior Brother is alright." Zhou Rui swallowed the sticky rice cake, which had a hint of sweetness in it.

"This is good news. We've attacked Qingyang too many times and can't take them down. That's why we've come back to ask for help."

"That's good, that's good." Li Yumei patted her chest repeatedly.

After that, no one disturbed Zhou Rui's meal. Zhou Rui grabbed the sticky rice cakes, each the size of a child's fist, and ate more than thirty of them before he stopped.

"Grandpa, Grandma, I'll be going now. The forest farm is about to open for business." Zhou Rui picked up the bowl and slurped down the corn porridge in one go.

"Are you full? There's still some left."

Gu Yunshen looked at Zhou Rui with a smile, thinking that this kid could eat a lot, just like himself when he was young. When he was young, after finishing his work, he would eat one sticky rice cake after another without taking a break, and he would never leave the table until he finished eating.

"I'm full, I'm full. The sticky rice cakes that the old lady made were really delicious."

After leaving the Gu family's house, Zhou Rui took off towards Xiangyang Forest Farm. Gujia Village was very close to the forest farm; he could simply pass through one end of Hongqi Town to the other.

A few minutes after Zhou Rui left Gujiatun, he saw a group of about ten people walking out of a separate house on the side road.

Some people were elated, gesturing with their hands as they spoke. Others, however, were dejected, muttering curses under their breath.

However, these people all had one thing in common: their eyes were bloodshot and vacant. Their faces were pale and bloodless, resembling zombies that had been drained of blood.

The group got onto the main road first, and immediately split into two paths, one heading towards the town and the other towards Zhou Rui.

Soon, Zhou Rui encountered the group of people coming from the opposite direction. Neither side knew the other, and they simply passed each other silently.

Zhou Rui could smell the strong smell of smoke on the group of people, as if they had just climbed out of a chimney.

A gambler. It seems that house is the gambling den Chen Datou mentioned, the one where people gamble in Gujiatun.

Zhou Rui kept his eyes straight ahead and walked directly towards the town. He moved quickly and soon caught up with the group of people ahead of him.

The group was somewhat disorganized, still chatting about last night's game. They talked about which hand they won, and which hand they played terribly, blocking the entire road.

Zhou Rui was contemplating whether to go down into the field and walk around the crowd when a short man in the crowd glanced back and saw him.

He glanced at it and didn't pay attention at first, but two seconds later he turned back to look at it again, this time staring at it for a while.

Upon seeing this, Zhou Rui couldn't help but frown.

Is this person someone I know? I don't know him. Besides, I don't have any friends who gamble. The only people I know, like Zhou Chen and his group, have all been sent to labor camps by him.

The short man suddenly whispered a few words to the person next to him, and suddenly everyone turned around and stared blankly at Zhou Rui.

Seeing this, Zhou Rui had no choice but to stop and look at them. They didn't speak, but the people on both sides moved forward a few steps, showing a tendency to surround them.

Zhou Rui glanced at the group of seven people. Each of them had messy hair, droopy eyelids, and unsteady, weak steps, as if they were walking on cotton.

"Hey guys, what's up?"

Zhou Rui stood in the middle of the road, his back ramrod straight.

A burly man stepped out, his expression ferocious, which, combined with his pale face, made him look somewhat like a mountain demon.

"Kid, I've been looking for you for months! I've been worried about you the whole time, and I haven't been able to sleep at night."

Zhou Rui was somewhat confused. These people looked unfamiliar, and he had no recollection of them at all. But why were they concerned about him? And what was with those hateful words squeezed out from between their teeth?

"You know me? But I've never seen you before."

"You've never seen me before?" The burly man's hatred intensified at Zhou Rui's nonchalant expression.

"Surround this kid. You son of a bitch, you hit me on the head this summer and I was bedridden for three days. And you fucking say you've never seen me before."

Zhou Rui tilted his head and thought for a moment. Summer, a stick? It seems like there's something to it.

That was the time I came to town to sell my work. I bought some things, and someone robbed me. I knocked down a man who was blocking my bicycle with a stick.

However, Zhou Rui had no recollection of whether the person in front of him was real or not; he never remembered such insignificant people who were unrelated to him.

However, it seems this matter cannot be resolved peacefully today. I definitely won't be able to leave until I have completely defeated these people.

However, Zhou Rui didn't pay any attention. Although there were seven people on the other side, they all had unfocused eyes, were weak, and looked malnourished.

After months of eating meat non-stop and having my body modified, I'm no longer afraid of them.

"Kid, kneel down right now. Hand over all your valuables, then let me beat you up to vent my anger, and I'll spare you."

The burly man feigned a magnanimous demeanor, trying to deceive Zhou Rui. In reality, he had been somewhat shaken by Zhou Rui's powerful blow that time. These young boys, especially, were the least restrained in fights, always aiming for vital points.

"You fucking talk too much nonsense."

"What...?"

Bang! The big man was suddenly kicked away by Zhou Rui.

The others were stunned. Was this kid really that reckless? Didn't he see that there were so many of them on his side? He still dared to make the first move.

Thump... The big man slammed heavily onto the ground, stirring up a flurry of snowflakes.

"I'm telling you, you talk too much nonsense. Are you deaf or something?"

"Cough cough...you, cough cough...you fucking dare to make the first move?"

The burly man looked on incredulously. If an ordinary person were surrounded like this, wouldn't their legs have given way and they'd be begging for mercy? Was this guy out of his mind?

"What are you all standing there for? Go get them!"