Rebirth in 1972: Redemption in Changbai Mountain

"That's not how it is, that's not how it is." Zhou Dashan broke out in a cold sweat as soon as he saw the public opinion shift. "I just made the decision, I haven't had a chance to say it yet. Chef Zhang and his wife haven't had children for many years, they're a bit impatient, as soon as this was mentioned they rushed to see the baby, afraid the baby would go hungry, they didn't say they wanted to take her. Don't talk nonsense."

"This is my own nephew. Would I harm them? I only tried to help them because they were really struggling. Ruiwa is only fifteen years old and doesn't even reach a full centimeter in height. His younger siblings are even younger. What will happen to them in the future? These are things we have to consider."

Zhou Dashan swallowed hard and continued, "I'm doing this all for their own good. Otherwise, with them so young and having to take care of a baby less than a year old, wouldn't that be a huge burden on the whole family? Besides, my parents both agree to this. Tell me, would grandparents really harm their own grandchild? They'd love them to death!"

Zhou Rui interrupted Zhou Dashan before he could continue, "Heh... You say you're doing this for our own good, but how come my dad and brother came to collect debts just a few days after their seven-day mourning period, took away our food rations, and looted all the vegetables from our private plot? These past few days, we've only been eating half a bag of cornmeal that Aunt Changchun lent us out of pity. You say you're doing this for our own good, but why haven't my dad and brother received any compensation? I heard that people who die from work-related injuries receive 80 yuan in compensation each, so my family would only get 160 yuan."

"Am I right, Grandpa Zhao?" Zhou Rui turned to ask the village chief.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Youzhi nodded subconsciously.

"You say grandparents love their grandchildren dearly, but I've never seen them bring us a bowl of porridge when we were hungry, and they've never even glanced at us."

"Yes, what kind of elders are these? Their own uncle steals their food, and their own grandparents won't even see them."

"A few days ago, Dashan took all the grain, and the children were crying loudly from hunger. Rui came to my door begging for help, and my husband, being soft-hearted, let me take half a bag of cornmeal. This is the food we managed to scrape together with great difficulty; any more would be gone anyway."

"The village chief should take better care of them; we can't let this family starve to death."

"Yes, they always teach us about filial piety and being a good family. They say we shouldn't have such an unkind and unjust beast."

This immediately brought up Zhao Youzhi, who was now losing face.

"Zhou Dashan, is that what everyone's saying? You took all of Ruiwa's family's food rations? Dashi's only been gone a short time! Are you trying to drive your nephew and niece to their deaths?"

"No, no, I'm doing this for their own good. They're still young and don't know how to plan ahead. We have to carefully budget their food and drink every day, otherwise their meager rations will run out in a few days. As for the compensation, aren't my parents also Da Shi's parents? It's only right that their own parents receive his compensation, isn't it? Consider it my second brother's way of supporting our parents," Zhou Dashan quickly explained.

"What about my brother's pension?" Zhou Rui didn't say anything else, nor did he want to argue that he should have a share of his father's pension. He went straight to the point.

"I...I don't know. You'll have to ask your grandparents," Zhou Dashan stammered.

Zhao Youzhi frowned, glanced around, and said, "Datou, go and call Zhou Jiutian and Zhao Xiumei over."

Big Head, who was enjoying the commotion, suddenly heard the village chief calling him to do something. He was a little unhappy and muttered something under his breath, but he still turned around to call for help.

A moment later, an old man and an old woman walked over from a distance, followed by a group of people. The old man was in his late fifties or early sixties, with a dark and withered face, but a shrewd glint in his eyes. The old woman following behind him was timid and hesitant, clearly lacking in assertiveness.

"Village chief, what do you want?" Zhou Jiutian felt a little flustered when he saw Zhao Youzhi's dark face.

"What do you want? The Da Shi family is in such a mess, and you're just sitting at home? Aren't you afraid your Zhou family ancestors will jump out of their coffins?" Zhao Youzhi was even more furious seeing Zhou Jiutian pretending to be ignorant. "I won't beat around the bush, I just want to ask you a few questions."

"you say."

"First, did you receive the compensation money for Da Shi and his son?"

"Yes, yes. I had no choice. My wife and I are in poor health. We used to be taken care of by our eldest and second eldest sons, but the second eldest son passed away recently. We were so heartbroken that we both fell ill and are now bedridden. Consider this money our retirement savings," Zhou Jiutian said, breathing heavily.

"You're only in your early fifties, right? Can't you work already? Okay, let's say Da Shi's compensation is for retirement. But what about Xiao Feng's?"

"Didn't Da Shi's family borrow money from relatives and friends to build the house? After Da Shi left, the relatives all came to their house and made a scene. Now they want to pay back the debt!"

Zhao Youzhi glanced at the group of people who had just come with Zhou Jiutian, his eyes narrowing. "Fine, so you're right about that. We'll settle the debts owed to the Da Shi family one by one later with the account book. Now, let's talk about the second thing: after Da Shi left, you had people steal the food from Ruiwazi's family, and you also looted all the vegetables from their fields?"

"No...no, no. How could I do such a thing? He's my own grandson, even if I were the worst, I wouldn't do something like this!" Zhou Jiutian stammered, startled. "Dashan did it himself, my wife and I didn't know."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Dashan quickly tried to stop them, gesturing with his eyes, "Dad, Dad. Didn't we talk about it at dinner the other day? I was just worried that Ruiwa and the others wouldn't know what to do, so I'm keeping it for them. I'll give them food regularly, not steal it. Didn't you and Mom agree to that?"

"Yes, yes, yes. It's safekeeping, not stealing," Zhou Jiutian quickly replied.

"No, it was my uncle and my older cousin who took it. They even slapped me when I refused to give it to them," Zhou Ping cried. "Little Niangao had nothing to eat and cried her eyes out. My second brother and I went to their house to beg for a bowl of food, but my aunt chased us out with a broom, saying she'd rather feed it to the dogs than give us any."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Youzhi glared at Zhou Dashan with eyes like flying knives, making Zhou Dashan shudder.

"No, no. My wife must not know the truth and thinks Ruiwa and the others are just fooling around. I'll scold her when I get home for not feeding them. I really didn't know anything about this. If I had known, I would have..."

"You know, you were eating in the yard that day, and your grandparents were there too..."

Zhou Rui quickly pulled Zhou Ping aside: "Alright, stop talking. Grandpa Village Chief is here; he'll stand up for us."

Seeing this, Zhao Youzhi felt that Zhou Rui was kind; even in this situation, he still saved face for his grandparents and uncle. However, this only made Zhou Jiutian and Zhou Dashan appear even more ruthless.

"Alright, I'm listening. Since you're unwilling to feed Ruiwazi and his family, then you don't need to worry about the grain either. According to last year's distribution, there should still be over two hundred catties left. You'll get fifty catties of wheat flour, one hundred catties of corn, and thirty catties each of potatoes and sweet potatoes." Zhao Youzhi was also preparing to squeeze more benefits out of Ruiwazi.

Zhou Dashan quickly clarified, "There isn't that much. We only took less than two hundred catties of grain in total, and most of it was corn, black beans, soybeans, and other miscellaneous grains."

"Alright, do you think my word doesn't count? If you don't listen to me, report it to the commune and see how they judge those who steal orphans' rations and starve them to death. I'm not going to worry about it anymore." Zhao Youzhi's face darkened.

Upon hearing that he would go to jail, Zhou Dashan quickly replied, "Here, here. We'll do as the village chief says?"

"Since you've agreed, let's talk about the third thing." Zhao Youzhi glanced at Zhou Jiutian and his wife, Chef Zhang and his wife, and Zhou Dashan.

"Ruiwa's grandparents, I heard from Dashan that you two agreed to sell Fengwa's daughter," Zhao Youzhi said, emphasizing the word "sell."

Zhao Xiumei was startled and immediately panicked. "No, we wouldn't dare sell our child. It was Dashan and his wife who said..."

Zhou Jiutian quickly chimed in, afraid that this unhelpful old woman would say something wrong. "No. It's not about selling the child. We're afraid the child won't survive. We thought Chef Zhang's family is well-off, and if we took the child there, he would not only live, but he would thrive."

"Yes, yes. We meant well. I'm his uncle, I can't hurt him."

"Really, we just felt sorry for the child and were afraid he wouldn't be doing well. We were just a little anxious and rushed over to check on him before his uncle could even arrive. We didn't mean to snatch the child," Chef Zhang's wife quickly added, afraid that if she spoke too slowly, they wouldn't be able to leave the village. This is a poor, remote place, far from the town; if he were beaten to death here, no one would even know.

"Hiss... I didn't buy it, I didn't steal it." Chef Zhang said, kneeling on the ground with his hands covering the bird.

"Alright!" Zhao Youzhi shouted. "Shut up, all of you. Who am I supposed to listen to?"

"His grandparents, did they receive fifty yuan?"

"I accepted it, but it's some kind of nutrition fee or hardship fee, not money from selling the child." Zhou Jiutian quickly repeated what Chef Zhang had said.

"You didn't tell Ruiwa about this, did you?" Zhao Youzhi was no longer flustered.

"I haven't had a chance to say it yet."

"That means Ruiwazi didn't agree. He came to their door to kidnap them without their consent and even injured them. What else is that but robbery? Hmm..."

"No, no. It's that, that..." Chef Zhang and his wife were so anxious they couldn't speak.

"Alright, enough with the 'this' and 'that'. Ruiwa said they can raise the little rice cakes themselves; you can't take them away. Given that you came to their door to rob them and intentionally injured them, consider the fifty yuan as compensation for their medical expenses. So, I'll talk to Ruiwa and ask him not to pursue the matter further. How about that?"

"Village chief, this is too much. It was just a little blood loss, and it only cost a few dollars to treat. We can't possibly ask for fifty dollars." The fat woman was reluctant to part with it.

"Oh, then let's report it to the authorities and call the police."

"No, no. We promise. Hiss..." Chef Zhang quickly agreed, otherwise he would lose his job if he ended up in the police station.

"Alright, then you two can get out of here."

Upon hearing this, Chef Zhang hurriedly asked his wife to help him up, and they rushed away as if a dog was chasing them.

"Those two villagers are gone, so let's talk about your family's affairs. Zhou Jiutian, what do you have to say?" Zhao Youzhi said to Zhou Jiutian only after watching Chef Zhang disappear from sight.

"I have nothing to say. Consider Da Shi's compensation money as our retirement fund, and I won't ask Ruiwa for it again," Zhou Jiutian said, bowing his head.

"Grandpa, does that mean my family will sever all ties with you from now on? You and Grandma won't care about our lives anymore, and I won't have to kowtow to you for New Year's greetings anymore. We'll never see each other again," Zhou Rui suddenly interjected.

"No, I meant I don't need you to support me in my old age, I didn't say I wanted to sever ties with you." Zhou Jiutian still had some sense of shame.

Zhao Youzhi waved his hand to interrupt Zhou Jiutian: "Alright. You still have two sons, how can you let your grandson support you? Since you took all of Da Shi's eighty yuan, don't make any more excuses to make things difficult for Ruiwa's family. Grandma, what do you think?"

"I...I." Zhao Xiumei looked at Zhou Rui, Zhou Ping, and Zhou An, who was sitting on the ground holding Xiao Niangao. She then glanced at Zhou Dashan and finally looked at Zhou Jiutian. After a long pause, she managed to utter, "I'll listen to our boss."

After hearing this, Zhou Rui looked up and closed his eyes. Zhao Youzhi gritted his teeth. Zhou Jiutian only cared about himself; he didn't care about his own grandson so that his eldest son could support him in his old age. And this grandmother, she listened to everything Zhou Jiutian said, never daring to voice any resistance.

"Give me the eighty yuan from Fengwa, and the fifty yuan compensation that Chef Zhang from town gave me earlier," Zhao Youzhi said, reaching out to Zhou Jiutian and Zhou Dashan without saying anything else.

"The eighty yuan is enough to pay off the debt. This fifty yuan also needs to be paid off, otherwise, look, our relatives and friends are still here." Zhou Dashan's eyes darted around, and he took out the money he couldn't bear to part with.

Zhao Youzhi was somewhat embarrassed after hearing this, and quickly looked at Zhou Rui.

Upon seeing this, Zhou Rui hurriedly said, "Alright, my family has an account book from when we borrowed money. We should at least tell you who we returned it to, so that my family can clear up our accounts."

"Yes, yes." Zhou Dashan quickly pulled out a crumpled elementary school workbook from his pocket. "My dad took out thirty-five yuan from his coffin savings, I borrowed ten yuan, my third brother borrowed twenty-five yuan, Uncle Jianmin borrowed eight yuan, my fourth sister borrowed sixteen yuan and fifty cents... a total of three hundred and seven yuan and eighty cents."

"The eighty yuan deducted from Fengwa's salary, plus the fifty yuan that Chef Zhang paid in compensation, still owes, still owes..." Zhao Youzhi calculated for a long time but still couldn't figure it out.

"We still owe 177.8 yuan." At this moment, Zhou Shumin, the accountant who had appeared out of nowhere, continued.

"Okay, you still owe 177.8 yuan. You pay back the 130 yuan first, cross out the name, and give the rest of the ledger to Ruiwazi so he can pay it back slowly."

"Pay me back first."

"Give me my money back first, my family is starving."

"Ruiwa is so young, how am I supposed to know when he'll have the money to pay me back first?"

"My family isn't in a hurry. I've watched Rui grow up; he's capable. I'll wait."

Suddenly, the group of relatives and neighbors who had come with Zhou Jiutian started arguing amongst themselves, all afraid they wouldn't get their money now. Zhou Rui was still young, with younger siblings and nieces to support; who knew when they would get their money back?

"Stop, stop! Don't say anymore!" Zhao Youzhi was so angry he was jumping up and down, but no one listened. "Zhou Dashan, you speak."

The group of people then stopped and looked at Zhou Dashan.

"Village chief, here's what I'm thinking. Why don't we ask Ruiwa to give his house to his older cousin? His cousin is getting married, but his house is too cramped and there's no room for the wedding. If he gives up his house, I'll pay him back later. As for his job, doesn't the forest farm say you have to be at least 18 to work? Let him work for his older cousin first, giving him five yuan a month. We can pay him back when he turns 18, and he can earn more money that way. Isn't that great?"

Zhou Rui's heart skipped a beat upon hearing this. A job? What kind of job? He had never heard of such a thing in his previous life.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Youzhi was so angry that he pounded his chest, while the others murmured behind his back.

"His uncle is shameless. These three houses, including labor and materials, should cost at least four or five hundred, but he wants to leave for only one hundred and seventy."

"Yes, how could the mountains be so cruel, kicking Ruiwa and the others out? Where are they supposed to live?"

"Putting aside everything else, those three main beams alone must cost several tens of thousands of yuan."

"Work? What kind of work? Does Ruiwa's family have job openings? I've never heard of that."

"Yes, I've never heard of it. They kept it a secret very well."

Zhao Youzhi pointed at Zhou Dashan's nose and cursed, "You beast! Are you trying to force your nephew to his death? The house was just built, and you want to use it to find a wife for your son. Where are you going to live? And the forest farm employee quota—that's for Ruiwa and his family. Two people in our family died to get that one job quota, and you're still eyeing it? No way. The certificate for that job quota is with me. It won't be given to Ruiwa until he comes of age, so don't even think about it."

"So that's how it is," Zhou Rui thought. This was the reason he was forced to lose his family and home in his past life—besides the house, there was also the job opportunity at the forest farm. In his past life, his niece was taken away, his younger siblings died, and he himself ran away. Presumably, in the end, all of this benefited his uncle's family. His third uncle, Uncle Zhou, had settled down in the city and had very little affection for his parents and brothers in the village, but he wouldn't come back to take the house.

"Then what should we do about this debt? Relatives and friends are all coming to collect, and I can't do anything about it. Besides, you can only work at the forest farm when you're an adult. Ruiwa is only fifteen, so it will be three more years before he can start working. Isn't that a waste? We can just pay him back then." Zhou Dashan was still arguing.

After Zhou Rui figured it out, he knew he couldn't keep the house, so he said, "Don't even think about it. Since you refuse to hand over the account book, I'll find another way to give you 177.8 yuan."

"What are you going to do?" Zhou Dashan muttered.

"Since everyone's here today, I'd like Grandpa Zhao to be my witness. I'd like to sell this house for 300 yuan. Who's interested in buying it?"

"No way, Ruiwa, where will you live if you sell the house?" Aunt Changchun from next door shouted after hearing this.

Zhao Youzhi quickly added, "Yes, Ruiwa, don't be foolish. Without a house, you'll freeze to death in the winter."

Zhou Rui wiped the blood from his forehead: "Grandpa Zhao, I've thought it through. There are still a few old houses left near the rocky cliff at the east end of the village, right? They belong to the village, right? Could you sell one to me?"

"Yes, but it's all the way to the edge of the village. Most of our villagers used to live there; there was a mountain spring there. Later, the water dried up, and our reclaimed land moved westward, so everyone moved out. It's been abandoned for many years; I'm afraid it's no longer habitable," Zhao Youzhi recalled. "Old Zhou, don't you think so?"

Upon hearing Zhao Youzhi's question, Accountant Zhou hurriedly replied, "Yes, ever since that year of severe drought and the water dried up, people have been moving eastward one after another. The latest move has been seven or eight years, and it's probably too uninhabitable now."

"It's alright. Grandpa Zhao, Grandpa Zhou, I just want to pay off my debts and then find a place to settle down so that some people won't come to my house and cause trouble." Zhou Rui's eyes showed a determination: "I'll pay eighty yuan to buy a better house from the village, but the village has to help me repair the house, at least so it doesn't collapse."

Zhao Youzhi and Zhou Shumin exchanged a glance and said, "Alright. Since Ruiwa has made up his mind, we won't say anything more. Accountant Zhou, find a better house for Ruiwa's family later, and then ask the militia to help repair the house, and record all the work points. As for the money, we'll put it in the account a few days later after Zhou Rui sells the new house."

"Does everyone have any objections?" Zhao Youzhi asked one last time, looking around at the room.

"No, what's wrong with selling that dilapidated house for eighty?"

"Whoever has an opinion should just pay for it."

Hearing that none of the villagers objected, Zhao Youzhi made the decision on the spot. "Dashan, Ruiwa said he wants to sell the house. Now I'm saying, once Ruiwa sells the house, we'll settle the debt. What do you say? It'll only take a week at most. After that, you and your parents shouldn't contact him unless it's absolutely necessary." Zhao Youzhi didn't even bother to look at Zhou Jiutian, knowing that from now on, Zhou Dashan would be in charge of the Zhou family.

"Then, about the job..."

"Get lost. That job quota belongs to Ruiwa. I have the work certificate. I'll give it to Zhou Rui when he comes of age. If you dare to reach out and do anything recklessly, I'll break your dog paws."