Rebirth in 1972: Redemption in Changbai Mountain

"What exactly happened? Tell me." Zhou Rui lit a cigarette himself. Sometimes, to fit in, you have to do the same things as everyone else.

If anyone else had asked, Chen Datou might have put on an act. But when Zhou Rui asked him, he didn't hide anything.

After all, Zhou Rui was such a capable person who had always respected him, and he couldn't let Zhou Rui lose face.

"See that guy holding the clothes? He's the one who caused all this trouble. He cornered Zhou Ji in Widow Zhao's bed and made such a commotion that he woke up everyone in the village."

Chen Datou pointed into the courtyard.

"Isn't this Chen Yaozu? Your cousin?" someone who looked similar to Chen Datou chimed in.

"What cousin? He's never even invited me to a drink," Chen Datou said, his tone revealing his resentment.

"Isn't Chen Yaozu fond of drinking? He gets irritable when he drinks too much, and both of his wives ran away from him."

"After that, I couldn't find a wife anymore. For the past few years, I've been going to Widow Zhao's house all the time, and I've spent all my money on her."

"My aunt and the others couldn't do anything about it, so they just let him be. But who is Widow Zhao? She has more than one husband. He's gotten into fights with quite a few people in the village because of Widow Zhao."

"We know all these things, so let's talk about things we don't know."

"Hehe..." Chen Datou wasn't annoyed when someone urged him. After all, he knew more information, and no one else's words carried more weight than his.

"My cousin, Chen Yaozu, is a stubborn man. He thought that after being Zhao the Widow's lover for several years, she should belong to him. He even wanted to marry her."

"Well, Big Head, I didn't expect you to be so literary. And you even called yourself a 'guest in bed'."

「赵寡妇村里多少人想着呢，陈耀祖这样的喜欢揍媳妇的人凭什幺想娶回家？」一个秃顶男人吐了口烟气，语气里对陈耀祖很是瞧不上。

Chen Datou glanced sideways at the bald bachelor. "If Widow Zhao doesn't even look at Chen Yaozu, why would she look at you?"

Chen Yaozu still has some money. You old bachelor, what use are you besides helping to carry water and chop firewood?

"Ji has been back for a while now, right? I don't know why, but one night he passed by Widow Zhao's house and went inside. And lately he's been going to Widow Zhao's house every night."

Chen Datou continued speaking, mainly addressing Zhou Rui. This was his major client, so he had to serve him well.

"Oh, Zhou Ji hasn't been married yet, has he? How come he's into this sort of thing? He doesn't go looking for virgins, but instead focuses on widows in their thirties."

"Not being married doesn't mean you haven't experienced it. Maybe she's already lost her virginity outside. Hehe."

"Don't interrupt, let Da Tou continue." Someone was dissatisfied; they were enjoying the story when someone interrupted.

"Chen Yaozu is drinking alone at home tonight. Damn it, he didn't even invite me," Chen Datou said angrily.

"He drank too much and wanted to go to Widow Zhao's house for some fun, but unexpectedly Widow Zhao refused to open the door and lied that she was on her period."

"Chen Yaozu didn't believe it, so he continued to bang on the door. Unexpectedly, the door of Widow Zhao's house was so flimsy that the bolt broke in an instant."

"Are you sure it wasn't broken by Chen Yaozu?" The bald bachelor was somewhat skeptical.

"I told you not to interrupt." Another person slapped the old bachelor on the head, which was almost bald.

"As a result, Chen Yaozu cornered Zhou Ji in bed. Neither of them were wearing anything, and they were covered in sweat. Widow Zhao also had various pinch marks on her body."

"On that fair and tender flesh, there's a mouth mark here and a finger mark there, tsk tsk..."

Chen Datou's description was so vivid and erotic that the men around him were completely captivated, and the bald bachelor even drooled.

Zhou Rui held An'an in his arms and covered An'an's ears with his hands, because these things were not for children to hear.

However, he didn't completely believe what Chen Datou said; he was sure there was a lot of embellishment in it, since Chen Datou couldn't have seen the scene.

"This really enraged Chen Yaozu. He had long considered Widow Zhao a... abhorrent... abhorrent what again?"

"Forbidden lover," Zhou Rui interjected helplessly, lest the story get stuck there.

"Oh right, forbidden love. Ruiwa, you're so cultured."

"Chen Yaozu treated Widow Zhao as his own. Then Widow Zhao slept with Zhou Ji and locked him out. He got angry and started yelling that the two of them were having an affair."

"They even took their clothes and won't return them. Look, the two of them are still wrapped in those big blankets. I wonder what that blanket smells like now?"

As Chen Datou spoke, he was still somewhat fantasizing, really wanting to smell it.

"The village chief is here, make way, make way, let the village chief pass."

Everyone looked towards the alley entrance following the sound, and Zhou Rui was no exception.

Zhao Youzhi's hair was a mess, and his shoes were on the wrong feet, indicating that he had been pulled out of bed.

Zhao Youzhi went up and exchanged a few words with the militiamen guarding the place, then turned around and glanced at Chen Yaozu and the other two parties involved.

"Give the clothes back to them."

"Village chief, they're having an affair, so we should let them be and let everyone see."

"I said, give the clothes back to them." Zhao Youzhi's voice was louder, his tone leaving no room for argument.

Chen Yaozu's eyes were bloodshot, and he seemed somewhat unwilling. But he was only emboldened by alcohol; he lacked the real courage to confront Zhao Youzhi.

He threw the clothes in his hand at the two of them, deliberately making them fall apart, with his bra and underwear scattered everywhere.

Upon seeing this, the two people who were kneeling on the ground quickly wrapped themselves in blankets and crawled forward. Zhou Dashan and Tian Xiuying, who had been stopped outside by the militia, also rushed forward to help Zhou Ji find his clothes on the ground.

With no one to help her, Widow Zhao hurriedly picked up her clothes from the ground. Inadvertently, her movements were a little too vigorous, exposing her skin.

"Wow, she's so fair-skinned!"

"It's fucking huge, no wonder it can attract so many men."

"That little brat Zhou Ji isn't all that great. He's not even as strong as me. How did he manage to climb onto Widow Zhao's bed?"

"She's a slut, what, you still want to go?"

"I didn't say that, don't wrong me."

Countless beams of flashlight shone down, and the villagers, who were usually very frugal, were not afraid of wasting batteries at this moment.

Of course, most of the attention was directed at Widow Zhao, with only a small number glancing at Zhou Ji – those were people with a sense of curiosity.

Zhou Ji was shivering from the cold, but his face was flushed. He was embarrassed; he had never lost face like this in front of so many people before.

In contrast, Widow Zhao remained calm. She already had a bad reputation, and since her husband's death, she had been arrested many times while trying to support her children; she was used to it by now.

She and Xu Liying were two contrasting figures in the village. Both were widowed and both had two children. But Xu Liying, through her relentless hard work, managed to send her brother-in-law to vocational school, and now her two sons are in elementary school.

She lacked Xu Liying's abilities and ambition; all she could rely on was her own body. Yet, she managed to raise her children and never believed she had done anything wrong.

Zhao Youzhi looked at Widow Zhao and sighed helplessly. Doing such a thing was immoral and would ruin her reputation, but she had indeed raised two children, who were also the grandchildren of the Zhao family.

Whose fault is this? Is it Widow Zhao's, or the elders of the Zhao family? If they had helped more back then, would things have turned out differently?

But everyone had a hard time back then. No one's food came from the wind, and no one could help Widow Zhao's family all the time.

"Zhou Ji and Zeng Ping are to be punished by cleaning the village's night soil for three months, and no one is allowed to help them."

Zeng Ping lowered her head, a hint of stubbornness flashing in her eyes.

Except when she was being punished, no one in the village ever called her by her real name; they always called her Widow Zhao, as if she were just a tool for the Zhao family to continue the family line.

In her view, living like this was also a silent form of resistance against the entire Zhao family.