Rebirth in 1972: Redemption in Changbai Mountain

After eating for a while, Xiao Niangao was a little dissatisfied with Zhou Rui tearing meat for her to eat. She also wanted to use her hands to eat, just like An'an and Zhou Ping.

Watching the little rice cake push his hand away, and then reach out his little hand to grab into the bowl.

Zhou Rui quickly rolled up Xiao Niangao's sleeves, otherwise the little soup in the bowl would have soaked his sleeves.

The little rice cake held a sparrow in both hands, opened its mouth and tried to bite it, but after biting for a long time, it still couldn't break the skin.

Little Rice Cake looked up at everyone and wondered if what she was eating was different from what everyone else was eating.

She tossed the sparrow in her hand into the bowl and stretched her little hand forward. Before Zhou Rui noticed, she suddenly grabbed the bone that An'an had thrown on the table.

The little rice cake moved its mouth, sucked on the bone, and stuck out its tongue, as if it had a little taste in its mouth.

An'an was eating when she noticed a smacking sound coming from beside her.

Turning my head, I saw Xiao Nian Gao tightly clutching a bone, eating it with great gusto.

"Hey, little rice cake, why are you eating bones?"

An'an reached out and grabbed Xiao Niangao's fist, trying to pry her fingers open, but she didn't dare to use too much force.

Little Rice Cake was unhappy about this. She reached out with her other little hand, covered her little fist, and tried to pull back, while sticking out her little tongue to reach for it.

Zhou Rui immediately picked up the sparrow from the bowl, tore off a piece of its skin for her, and only then did Xiao Niangao let go of it.

But after moving her mouth a couple of times, she realized the taste was a little off. She pushed herself up with her little feet, stood up, and pointed at An'an.

"Dudu, you're bad."

An'an's eyes widened: "Second Brother, is Little Rice Cake calling me Auntie?"

"What? Little Rice Cake can talk now?"

"Listen, listen."

At this moment, Zhou Ping and the others also noticed An An's cries and stopped eating.

"Dudu, you're bad."

The sound is clearer now.

"Wasn't she calling Dudu? Why is she calling you?" Little Locust Tree had a big question mark on its head.

Zhou Rui's eyes lit up. He had also heard Xiao Niangao making that sound in the yard at first. He had initially thought it was just Xiao Niangao making a sound unconsciously.

But she kept calling An'an that, so maybe she really meant "auntie," but just couldn't pronounce it clearly.

"Yes, she really did call you aunt." Zhou Rui gave An An a reassuring look.

"Really?" An An was pleasantly surprised.

"Your aunt is the best to Xiao Nian Gao, and she often teaches her, so she can learn it."

"hey-hey……."

An'an forgot all about frying the sparrows at that moment and hugged Xiao Niangao tightly. She showered Xiao Niangao's rosy cheeks with kisses, leaving Xiao Niangao's face covered in oil.

"Eat, second brother, you eat."

An'an pushed the basin containing sparrows toward Zhou Rui and took over the task of feeding Xiao Nian Gao.

After all, Xiao Niangao calls her aunt, so she and Xiao Niangao are the closest people in the world.

Liu Pingan, Liu Shunli, and Xiao Huaishu finished eating one and were about to reach for another when they saw the whole pot slip away.

No, just because you're not eating it doesn't mean you can't let us eat it!

Liu Shunli looked at Zhou Ping, who was eating heartily, and nudged his arm with his hand.

Zhou Ping looked up and saw the three people winking at him and gesturing with their mouths forward. Only then did he realize that the basin in front of him was gone, and a whole basin of sparrows was in front of Zhou Rui.

Zhou Ping squinted, "I wouldn't dare!"

He didn't know if Liu Ping'an and the others understood, but he continued to lower his head and gnaw on the bone in his hand that still had a bit of meat left.

Zhou Rui watched their little actions and grinned from ear to ear. He grabbed a sparrow and then pushed the basin back.

The meal was finished amidst everyone's playful banter.

After they finished eating, Zhou Ping and a few others washed the bowls clean and then rushed in again.

Zhou Rui was gently rocking the little rice cake in his arms, humming an unintelligible tune.

He looked at Zhou Ping with some confusion. Usually, when he was with his friends, he would disappear after dinner, so why was he back now?

"What's up?"

Zhou Rui gently patted Xiao Niangao, whose eyelids were starting to droop and she was about to give up.

Seeing that Zhou Rui had lowered his voice, Zhou Ping also spoke in a low voice, showing good tact.

"Hehe... Second brother, look, my rifle has been at home for ages..."

Zhou Rui looked at Zhou Ping, who was rubbing his hands together and smiling obsequiously, as well as Liu Pingan and the others who were staring at them expectantly.

"What do you want?"

"Second Brother, could you take me to practice in the back mountain tomorrow?"

Zhou Rui habitually stroked his chin: "Alright, then you guys get ready, I'll take you up the mountain for a while tomorrow."

Upon hearing this, Liu Ping'an and the others immediately smiled.

"but……"

The group felt a sudden tightness in their hearts; Zhou Rui had a firm grip on this small space.

"But you all need to go back and talk to your mother and sister first. Only if they agree can I take you into the mountains."

Whew...they all breathed a sigh of relief.

"We must have gone back and asked my mother."

"I'll go back and tell my sister right away."

The group of people all ran off in a flash, and Zhou Ping followed them out, probably to put in a good word for his friends.

Zhou Rui gently placed the little rice cake on the kang (a heated brick bed). Ever since she wanted to learn to walk, he seemed to have a lot more things to do every day.

While Xiao Niangao was fast asleep, Zhou Rui thought he would fix the house in the afternoon, as some parts were drafty.

Zhou Rui pulled the blanket up to Xiao Niangao, and when he looked up, he saw An'an's face was very close to his, her eyelashes almost brushing against his face.

"What's wrong?" Zhou Rui suddenly shrank back.

"Second Brother, are you taking Third Brother to the mountains tomorrow?"

Zhou Rui immediately knew that this clingy little devil wanted to come along, so he decided to tease the clever little guy.

He pretended not to understand and gave a casual reply.

"Hmm, didn't we give Pingwa a gun? Let's take him to practice with it."

"Hmm, it's time to practice. But, Second Brother, what about me?"

Seeing An'an staring at him with wide eyes, Zhou Rui also tried to open his eyes as wide as possible and look at An'an.

"An'an, what are you?"

An'an was getting anxious. How could her second brother be so stupid? Didn't he understand what she was saying?

She stretched out a chubby index finger, pointing to her face: "Me, your cutest little sister, are you going to leave her home alone?"

Zhou Rui tilted his head back at a 45-degree angle, trying his best to hold back his laughter.

"Well, we can't leave you at home. Let me see, would it be better for you and Xiao Niangao to go to Sister Xinghua's house or Aunt Changchun's house?"

As Zhou Rui spoke, he glanced down at An An, whose face was flushed with anxiety.

"How about we invite Sister Qiuyue and Sister Yangping to come over and play with you?"

"Second Brother~"

An'an puffed out her cheeks like an angry little pufferfish, which made Zhou Rui unable to resist poking her with his finger.

Pfft... An An's puffed-up cheeks immediately gave way.

An'an immediately got angry. She was already upset, how could her second brother interrupt her? She grabbed Zhou Rui's clothes with both hands and shook him incessantly.

"Second brother, you're so mean! How could you treat your sister like this? What if you poke her cheeks out?"

Seeing that An'an was getting anxious, Zhou Rui quickly hugged her tightly: "Oh dear, how could I leave my adorable little sister at home? Of course I have to take her with me!"

"Oh, hehe hi hi."