Rebirth in 1972: Redemption in Changbai Mountain

Zhou Ping has lost all affection for Zhou Dashan's family, and now he doesn't even want to call them "uncle" anymore.

"Oh, my uncle and second cousin have come to our door. What do they want?"

Zhou Rui emphasized the words "elder uncle," and Zhou Ping could sense the coldness in them.

Zhou Rui is different from Zhou Ping. His experiences in his previous life allowed him to kill with a smile and hide his hatred behind a mask.

"They said their grandparents were seriously ill and about to pass away, so they came to our door to borrow money for treatment. They asked for three or five hundred yuan right off the bat, as if our money grows on trees."

As Zhou Ping spoke, his hatred grew stronger, and his voice involuntarily rose a few decibels.

Little Rice Cake pouted, and suddenly her little legs twitched.

Zhou Rui flicked Zhou Ping's forehead with his index finger: "Keep your voice down, or you'll wake them both up, and I'll make you go outside and do horse stance."

In Zhou Rui's eyes, nothing is more important than An An and Xiao Niangao getting a good night's sleep.

"Get to the point, why are you shouting like that? Is shouting going to kill someone or something?"

Zhou Ping hadn't expected Zhou Rui to react so strongly, all because Xiao Niangao had shaken her leg. Seriously, I'm getting down to business here, is it less important than a child taking a nap?

"Oh." Zhou Ping felt all his emotions disappear. The hatred that had just risen was shattered by a flick on the forehead from Zhou Rui.

"I stopped them from coming in and didn't agree to lend them money. Then my uncle and second cousin said they were going to go to the village and talk badly about us, saying we were unfilial and didn't care about our grandparents' lives."

"Then I said, if that's what he's going to say, I'll have Grandpa Zhao call Uncle San's factory and ask him why he doesn't care about his parents' lives."

"Then they didn't say anything, just threw out a harsh remark and ran away."

Now Zhou Ping honestly stated the facts in a calm tone, as if he were talking about someone else's affairs. He could even say the words "elder uncle" and "third uncle" without any pressure.

"Good job, very well done." Zhou Rui praised Zhou Ping with a smile. Some things need encouragement; he was trying to build Zhou Ping's confidence.

"Really?" Sure enough, Zhou Ping's eyes lit up immediately.

However, he learned his lesson and kept his voice down, not daring to be too loud.

"What are you going to do, second brother? Will our eldest uncle and second cousin really talk badly about us in the village?"

Zhou Ping was a little worried, after all, those gossipy people in the village were too powerful, they could stir up trouble even when there was no wind.

If Zhou Dashan and Zhou Ji go out and spread rumors, the reputation that the second brother has worked so hard to build up at home might be ruined.

"It's only polite to reciprocate. Since they're coming tonight, I'll go to their house tonight too. I'll see if Grandpa and Grandma are really dying, as they say."

Zhou Rui sneered, "Anyone can be disgusting."

I'm not only going, but I'm also bringing some good things with me. Even if I suffer a loss myself, I want to see the angry and exasperated faces of some people.

Seemingly sensing Zhou Rui's presence, An An, who had been fast asleep, suddenly sat up straight, muttering "Second Brother" as she opened her blurry eyes.

The scene before them gradually brightened, and Zhou Rui appeared clearly in front of them.

"Second Brother!" An'an cried out and threw herself into Zhou Rui's arms.

"You're really back? I thought I was dreaming."

"Hehe... I knew An'an was dreaming about her second brother, so I came back."

Zhou Ping muttered under his breath, "An'an is talking so loudly and you haven't gotten angry, but I got a flick on the forehead, really..."

Zhou Ping couldn't bear to see this scene, so he went to pack the backpack that Zhou Rui had brought back.

"Wow...wow!"

Little Rice Cake really couldn't sleep this time; she was disturbed continuously, and had to wake up even if she didn't want to.

Zhou Rui quickly put An An down and picked up Xiao Niangao in his arms.

I first touched the baby's bottom to check if he had wet the bed. Luckily, the diaper was dry.

"An'an, go and get the chamber pot."

Zhou Rui instructed An'an that the first thing a baby does upon waking up is either eat or poop.

"Second brother, what are these?"

Zhou Ping pulled out several oil paper packets from his backpack. After opening them, he didn't recognize any of them; it was the first time he had ever seen anything like them.

"Sea cucumber, sea shrimp."

"Sea cucumbers, sea ginseng? Why are they all black? And these prawns, as thick as my arm, much bigger than crayfish."

"No. Sea cucumbers and clams are not the same thing. They are alive, just like fish and shrimp. I'll make them for you later."

"Wow, this shrimp is huge!" An'an exclaimed, holding up a large shrimp.

This shrimp was the size of Zhou Rui's palm, and it almost completely covered An An's face.

"How about your second brother cooks it for you?"

Zhou Rui straightened the diaper for Xiao Niangao and said to An'an with a smile.

"Hmm, these shrimp are so big, I can eat four, no, three will be enough to fill me up." An An held up three fingers with difficulty.

She wanted to eat four, but then thought she probably couldn't finish them all, so she reluctantly broke off one. Actually, in Zhou Rui's opinion, each of the black tiger prawns he brought back weighed over half a pound. It would be quite good if An'an could eat two.

"Come on, your second brother will take you to cook seafood."

As Zhou Rui spoke, he carried Xiao Niangao on his back. He then picked out a few sea cucumbers, a few large shrimps, and a sea fish, and led An'an towards the kitchen.

He knew that as soon as he returned, the two little ones would cling to him.

The sea cucumber was from the Liaoning Sea in the East China Sea, and it was perfect for braising with black tiger prawns. The fish was a Bohai Sea knife fish, very long, which startled Zhou Ping when he first opened it.

"Pingwa, bury the rest in the backyard. The snow has already been piled up," Zhou Rui said, pointing to the remaining seafood in the oil paper package.

"Take out the mutton from your backpack, cut off a piece, and freeze it too."

Zhou Ping's eyes lit up when he saw the seafood; he didn't even notice the antelope meat hidden under his backpack.

Zhou Rui worked quickly and efficiently in the kitchen, boiling water to defrost all the seafood. Lacking the conveniences of later generations, Zhou Rui simply soaked the seafood in hot water.

Although it slightly affected the taste, Zhou Rui didn't care that much.

Thaw the sea cucumbers, clean them, remove the innards, then blanch them in boiling water, slice them, and set aside. Remove the shells and veins from the black tiger prawns, and cut them into several pieces as well. The prawns were really too big; Zhou Rui was worried that An'an wouldn't be able to eat them if they weren't cut into smaller pieces.

Zhou Rui fanned the firewood in the stove a few times, and only added the lard after the fire was burning brightly...

Half an hour later, the freshly cooked braised sea cucumber and steamed ribbonfish were placed on the table.

The sea cucumber and black tiger prawns were served in a thick broth, garnished with tiny shiitake mushrooms, making An'an's mouth water.

The steamed Bohai knife fish didn't look very appealing; it was just white fish meat drizzled with soy sauce. Since there wasn't a long plate, Zhou Rui had to chop it into several pieces and arrange them in a large bowl.

"Second Brother, didn't you make rice?" Zhou Ping asked, holding a bowl and looking at the table with only two dishes and no staple food.

"Isn't all this food enough for you?"

"Hehe... I'll go make some noodles."

Zhou Ping looked at Zhou Rui, didn't refute, and turned to go to the kitchen. He'd been eating a lot lately, and felt like he wasn't full without staple foods.