Rebirth in 1972: Redemption in Changbai Mountain

"Second brother is going to town to buy some things. It's too cold today, An'an, can you wait for second brother at home?"

Zhou Rui squatted down and patiently explained to An An.

"No way. Second Brother is mine, and Mao Dazhuang is mine too. You have to take me with you wherever you go."

An'an put her hands on her hips, leaving no room for negotiation.

Liu Kangri watched with a smile, finding it amusing how Zhou Rui took care of the child. In other people's homes, he would have already picked them up and left; there was no need for him to talk to the child so much.

"Why don't you just bring her along? It won't be a hassle, she'll just have to wear more clothes."

"Alright."

Zhou Rui shook his head helplessly and had no choice but to bring a coat from the room to wrap An An up so tightly that her eyes were completely obscured.

An'an hid inside her coat, secretly laughing like a weasel that had stolen a chicken.

Zhou Rui carried An'an out of the courtyard, mounted the mule, and was about to leave. Unexpectedly, he was stopped again just as he was about to go.

Zhou Ping was standing next to the big mule, holding Xiao Niangao in his arms. Xiao Niangao reached out and grabbed the mule's mane, refusing to let go.

Zhou Rui had no choice but to lean down and bring his face close to Xiao Niangao's: "What's wrong, Xiao Niangao?"

Unexpectedly, Xiao Niangao slapped Zhou Rui's face away and grabbed Mao Dazhuang's ear with her other hand.

"Second brother, I think Xiao Nian Gao wants to play with Da Zhuang."

Zhou Ping explained from the side.

Zhou Rui rolled his eyes at Zhou Ping, thinking he was just watching the show from the sidelines.

There was no hope for this kid, so Zhou Rui had to do it himself.

"Little Rice Cake, your second uncle is going to town to buy some things, he'll be back soon. How about I play with you when I get back?"

"Hmm, oh, eh..."

Do you agree or not?

"Ah, tou-wu, pa-mu."

Zhou Rui was having a headache; this was like talking to a brick wall.

At this moment, An'an pulled open her coat and stretched out a small, white fist.

With a small hand outstretched, a White Rabbit milk candy lay quietly in the palm of the hand.

Little Rice Cake's eyes lit up as if she smelled a faint milky aroma. She immediately let go of Mao Dazhuang and turned her head away.

With a whoosh, the White Rabbit candy in An'an's hand disappeared and reappeared at Xiao Niangao's mouth the next moment.

"Hey, don't eat it yet, the wrapper isn't on."

Zhou Ping grabbed Xiao Niangao's hand immediately, otherwise she would have eaten the paper along with it.

"Second brother, hurry, hurry!"

An'an kept urging Dazhuang on his back.

Zhou Rui flicked An An's nose with his finger: "You little rascal. Giddy up."

After the mule ran a few steps, Zhou Rui could still hear Xiao Niangao's chattering voice, as if she was arguing with Zhou Ping about the milk candy.

Although he couldn't understand some of it, Zhou Rui sensed from the irritable, childlike voice that it probably wasn't anything nice.

Riding on the mule's back, An'an was especially excited.

Although the snow covered the ground and there was no scenery to be seen, An'an was still happy.

She was willing to go anywhere with her second brother.

"An'an, how did you know Xiao Nian Gao would let go of the milk candy?"

"Because the milk candy is sweet and delicious?"

An'an thought her second brother was a bit slow; even she knew that children liked to eat candy.

Zhou Rui smiled, thinking it must have been a lucky accident.

Babies' attention is actually easily diverted; as long as something new and interesting is placed in front of them, they can forget what they are holding. Of course, this excludes the very stubborn ones.

"drive."

Zhou Rui squeezed the mule's belly with his legs, increasing his speed. He didn't want to stay outside for too long in this freezing weather.

"Fly, fly."

"Please bring your hands inside; it's windy outside, don't get cold."

"Haha..."

The pork stalls in town had almost no meat left, only some bones and lean meat with no fat visible, as well as most of the offal.

Zhou Rui knew that there was definitely more meat on the stall than just this, and there would definitely be some fat left over.

However, these are all prepared for those with connections and will not reach ordinary people. Fortunately, he doesn't need them.

"Uncle, how much for this large intestine, and this big bone?"

"Large intestines are three cents a pound, large bones are fifty-five cents a pound, no coupons required."

The butcher casually replied that this was a poor family's child who couldn't afford meat and could only buy offal and bones.

But looking back, it doesn't quite look like it.

The young man was wearing a worn-out military overcoat, but he was leading a mule, on which sat a beautiful little girl.

"How much large intestine do you have left? Weigh it all for me. And ten pounds of large bones too."

Zhou Rui waved his hand, displaying a touch of magnanimity.

Although large bones don't have much meat, they're great for making broth.

"Two sets of pig intestines weigh seven pounds and eight ounces, totaling two dollars and thirty-four cents. The large bone weighs ten pounds and five ounces and four mace, so if you say ten pounds and five ounces, that's five dollars and seventy-seven cents."

"The total is eight dollars and one cent."

The butcher keeps track of his accounts every day; he's pretty good at arithmetic.

"Give."

Zhou Rui took out some change from his pocket, counted it, and gave it to the uncle.

He didn't even think about bargaining; the meat stall was state-owned, so there was no room for negotiation.

Zhou Rui turned around and tied the large intestine and bones, which were bound with straw, to the mule's back.

"Brother Rui."

Zhou Rui heard someone shout and quickly turned around, but he didn't see anyone.

"Brother Rui, here, over here."

A head popped out from the bicycle repair shop, waving incessantly.

Zhou Rui led the mule over.

"Brother Tong Lei, what are you doing squatting here?"

As Zhou Rui spoke, he picked An An up and took her off the coat, revealing her little face.

There were only three people in the repair shed: a young woman in a floral cotton-padded jacket, an old man repairing cars, and Tong Lei.

A fire was lit in the shed, and the old man repairing a women's bicycle was tinkering with it. When Zhou Rui walked in, he just looked up at him.

He only met Zhou Rui once, and after so long, they no longer recognized each other.

"Hehe, it's windy outside, but Grandpa Li has a fire here to keep warm. Brother Rui, what's this?"

He's getting more and more comfortable calling Zhou Rui "brother"; he can't let someone else steal such a generous and wealthy man away.

"This is my sister."

An'an didn't say anything. It was her first time in town, and she felt a little unfamiliar with it. She just looked around with her eyes darting around.

Especially the old man over there, repairing that woman's bicycle.

Tong Lei took out two fruit candies: "Little sister, have some candy."

An'an turned around, but didn't show any joy. She'd eaten too much of this candy before and wasn't really interested in it anymore.

"Take it, thank you, brother."

Zhou Rui told An'an to take it, not wanting to disappoint Tong Lei.

"Thank you, brother." An'an reached out and picked it up, but didn't eat it. Instead, she casually put it in her pocket.

"What's Rui doing up here?"

"I'm here to buy some spices and wine. Oh, and how many wine coupons do you have left? Give me all of them."

Zhou Rui was thinking about the banquet tomorrow, and he knew he couldn't skimp on the drinks. People from Northeast China, young and old, can all hold their liquor, especially since everyone coming tomorrow would be a heavy drinker.

"it is good."

Tong Lei was not surprised at all; every time Zhou Rui came, he emptied his ticket voucher.

"By the way, there's been some progress on that Chef Zhang thing from last time."