Rebirth in 1972: Redemption in Changbai Mountain

Zhou Rui sneaked home with his belongings, trying to avoid anyone who might be there. He had no choice; he was on sick leave, and if someone saw him running around outside, carrying things, things could get messed up.

Back home, Zhou Rui found Xiao Niangao fast asleep on the bamboo bed in the yard. An'an and Zhou Ping were on either side, each with a large bowl in front of them, taking sips of water every now and then, their faces flushed and drenched in sweat. Zhou Rui looked up at the sky; it was cloudy, not as hot as yesterday. He looked at the trees; the treetops swayed, and a cool breeze blew.

"What are you two doing? It's so hot." Zhou Rui put down his basket and asked in a low voice.

When An'an saw Zhou Rui return, she didn't rush to him for the first time, and seemed a little listless.

"We didn't do anything? It just felt incredibly hot when we woke up this morning. Neither of us dared to go out to play." Zhou Ping was in slightly better spirits than An An, but not by much.

"Brother, I feel unwell." An'an's voice was a little hoarse, and tears welled up in her big eyes. She opened her arms, asking for a hug.

Seeing this, Zhou Rui felt extremely distressed and quickly sat down, holding An'an in his arms. An'an's body was a little hot, and when he touched her forehead, it was burning hot; it seemed she had a fever.

"Pingwa, come here and let me pat your head."

The fever was the same, only slightly better than An'an's. Zhou Rui held An'an and rocked her, patting her back with his hand. What could be the reason? The temperature was fine last night, not too cold, and An'an didn't kick off the blankets. Viral infection? Where would a virus come from in this remote mountain area? Unclean food? It was all homemade… Wait, Zhou Rui suddenly remembered the venison he had cooked last night.

Could it be that An'an and Pingwa ate too much venison last night? An'an is too young, and Zhou Ping is weak. Venison is warming and very nourishing. It's possible that they ate too much last night, causing indigestion and making them unable to handle the nourishment, leading to their fever. Thinking of this, Zhou Rui raised his right hand and slapped himself.

"Brother, why are you hitting yourself?" An'an hugged Zhou Rui's hand with her two little arms. Even in this situation, she still felt sorry for her brother.

"It was my fault. I shouldn't have let you eat so much sika deer meat last night. It's probably because you're too hot-tempered and can't handle the nourishment." Zhou Rui gently touched An'an's forehead with his nose, feeling extremely guilty.

"Pingwa, your symptoms are mild. Go to the clinic. Buy some hawthorn from Uncle Changhai, and tell him about your and An'an's fever symptoms. Ask him to prescribe some traditional Chinese medicine to reduce the fever. Tell him the fever was caused by eating venison. Make sure he prescribes traditional Chinese medicine, not Western medicine," Zhou Rui instructed carefully. He knew that Western medicine was scarce in this era, so most of the time only fever reducers with severe side effects like Analgin were available, which could sometimes cause more trouble.

Zhou Ping responded and prepared to leave, but Zhou Rui quickly stopped him and gave him a few yuan.

After Zhou Ping left, Zhou Rui hugged An'an and whispered, "Did you have lunch?"

"I didn't eat. I don't want to eat."

Seeing the small, weak An'an in his arms, Zhou Rui felt a pang of heartache. "Then let me make you some rice porridge, okay?"

"kindness."

Zhou Rui was about to put An'an on the bamboo bed and go to the kitchen to cook, but An'an just wouldn't let go of his clothes. Having no other choice, Zhou Rui used Xiao Niangao's baby carrier to carry An'an on his back. Looking at Xiao Niangao, he realized that this wouldn't do without her; what if she rolled off the bed? So he went back inside and brought out two pillows, placing one on each side.

Zhou Rui went to the kitchen to cook rice porridge and saw that there were two loofahs and a bunch of green vegetables on the stove.

"Where did these vegetables come from?" Zhou Rui muttered. His own vegetables had only been planted recently, so they couldn't possibly be from his own garden; they must have been given to him by someone else.

"It was brought by Aunt Changchun. She said she wanted to come and see you, but you were out," An'an said from behind.

Since we have loofah, let's make a loofah and egg soup; it's light and nutritious. Zhou Rui was busy in the kitchen, and An An didn't make a fuss. She hugged Zhou Rui from behind, as if she were hugging everything.

Finally finished with all that, Zhou Ping returned with several packets of herbs. Zhou Rui brought out the porridge and loofah and egg soup and placed them on the bamboo bed. He put An'an down, stretched out his right hand to Zhou Ping, and said, "You eat first. Give me the medicine, and I'll go and brew it."

Zhou Ping handed over the medicine, and Zhou Rui took it and prepared to go to the kitchen, but An An refused and grabbed Zhou Rui, refusing to let go.

"Brother feeds."

Looking at An'an's pleading eyes, Zhou Rui couldn't refuse. It seemed that he couldn't possibly let go of this precious girl today.

Zhou Ping ate his porridge heartily, occasionally picking up some pickled vegetables. Zhou Rui carefully fed An'an with a spoon, afraid of burning her. At this moment, Xiao Niangao woke up and cried loudly. Zhou Ping quickly put down his bowl and chopsticks to pick her up.

"Give it to me, eat it quickly, and then go to sleep." Zhou Rui knew that Zhou Ping was not feeling well, and that he had only gone to the clinic by forcing himself to stay awake.

"Mm." Zhou Ping placed the small rice cake between Zhou Rui's legs, leaned against Zhou Rui, and didn't say much, because he really had no strength left.

After feeding An'an, Zhou Rui went to prepare malted milk powder for Xiao Niangao. An'an fell asleep on Zhou Rui's back after Xiao Niangao finished drinking. Looking at the bowls and chopsticks in front of him, and the herbs he was holding, Zhou Rui had no choice but to tie Xiao Niangao to his chest with her face facing outwards. So, with two children strapped to his back, Zhou Rui washed the dishes and brewed the medicine. After finishing all this, Zhou Rui washed and hung the clothes to dry. Having been busy all afternoon, Xiao Niangao remained quiet and well-behaved, never crying or fussing whenever she was on Zhou Rui's back.

Such a well-behaved child, how could she have been sold by her uncle in her past life? Zhou Rui gritted his teeth with hatred just thinking about it. That chef couple wasn't kind-hearted; they didn't buy the small rice cakes with any real intention, they just bought them to bring good luck after hearing the charlatan's words. Zhou Rui would get his revenge on these people sooner or later.

When the two woke up in the afternoon, Zhou Rui quickly brought them the cooled herbal medicine to drink. After eating some hawthorn, An'an finally had a bit of an appetite for dinner, so Zhou Rui made noodles for them.

These past two days, Zhou Rui hasn't gone anywhere, spending his time preparing various meals for the two of them. Under Zhou Rui's meticulous care, they finally began to recover their strength. He didn't rest in the evenings either, delivering the venison he had prepared to Fifth Grandfather, Aunt Changchun, and Zhao Dazhu's family. Zhao Dazhu's family even gave them two extra wild ducks. Sister-in-law Xinghua's health is Xiao Nian Gao's food source; it's precious, and she can't lack nutrition.

Even Zhao Dazhu joked that he'd been eating a lot of oil and fat these days thanks to his wife, and had even gained some weight. People were asking if Zhao Dazhu was eating all of his wife's food. The rumors spread, and Zhao Dazhu's reputation in the village started to suffer.

These past two days, Zhou Rui hasn't gone hiking; it's too far, and he couldn't take care of the two of them. He's only occasionally set fish traps in the stream to replenish the fish in the pond. He also caught two large turtles, which he plans to bring to Zhang Zhenbei on his next trip to the forest farm.