Rebirth in 1972: Redemption in Changbai Mountain

Zhou Rui has been quite busy these past few days, frequently going out, and this is the first time he's done this since returning from hunting.

Zhou Ping didn't know what his second brother was doing. He asked him once, but Zhou Rui dismissed him with a simple "It's an adult matter, kids shouldn't ask."

An'an is a bit difficult to deal with. She always asks where he went and clings to Zhou Rui's leg, not letting him go out and insisting on following him.

In the end, Zhou Rui had no choice but to sign many agreements with An'an, this clingy little devil.

For example, how long I should play with her every day, how long I should hold her while she sleeps at night, and how long I should bring her a gift every time I go out.

An'an counted on her fingers, and after she finished counting, she wanted to take off her shoes. Zhou Rui was so scared that he quickly stopped her. If this continued, he would completely lose control of the situation.

On January 10, 1973, after lunch, Zhou Rui took An'an and Xiao Niangao to Zhao Dazhu's house.

Little Rice Cake hasn't seen Yan'er for a few days; she must miss her terribly.

When Zhou Rui got home, he put two packs of cigarettes in his pocket, stuffed a few steamed buns into his coat, tucked his pistol behind his back, and prepared to leave.

"Second brother, are you going out again today?"

Just as Zhou Ping finished feeding the falcon, he saw Zhou Rui about to go out.

"Well, I still have some things to finish today. After that, I don't think I'll have anything else to do before the New Year except go up the mountain one more time. I'll spend some quality time with you all at home then."

Zhou Rui rubbed Zhou Ping's short hair, a strange feeling welling up inside him. This hair was getting a bit long; it needed a trim.

Zhou Ping watched Zhou Rui speak to him gently and sensed that his second brother was acting differently today. Was something big about to happen?

But he hadn't heard anything about it in the village. Should he go ask Brother Ping An?

Zhou Rui walked into the yard, where Mao Mao was lying in the sun, basking in the sunlight. He seemed to have gained a lot of weight and looked round, no longer appearing as fierce as before.

The little furballs were chasing a spinning top, which Zhou Ping had given them to expend their energy because they were being quite noisy.

When Zhou Rui came into the yard, Maoqiu and Maotuan dropped their spinning tops and ran over, rubbing against Zhou Rui's legs and wanting him to play with them.

Zhou Rui squatted down and scratched Maoqiu and Maotuan's heads vigorously. Maoqiu and Maotuan were five or six months old, and their height and weight were as tall and heavy as a mongrel.

But at this age, the dog is at a playful age, about the same age as a five or six-year-old child. It especially loves playing with people and has inexhaustible energy.

Seeing that his two older brothers had run away and no one was going to fight him for the spinning top, Maodou lost interest and ran to Zhou Rui's side, wagging his tail, clearly wanting some of his affection.

Zhou Rui raised his hand and scratched Maodou's chin, making Maodou squint its eyes.

After playing with them for a while, Zhou Rui got up and left. The three puppies wanted to follow, but Zhou Rui locked them inside the door.

On the way to town, Zhou Rui walked. The big mule was too conspicuous, and there was nowhere to put it, so it was better to walk.

Upon arriving in town, Zhou Rui went straight to Tong Lei's house. The two had arranged beforehand that Tong Lei wouldn't be going to work that day and would wait for him at home.

Tong Lei welcomed Zhou Rui inside, and before closing the door, he deliberately peeked outside.

"What are you looking at? We haven't done anything wrong, are you afraid people will find out?"

Zhou Rui joked with a smile, clearly in a good mood.

"Hehe... I'm used to it." Tong Lei laughed awkwardly.

Upon entering Tong Lei's room, the two sat down.

"How is it? Nothing's gone wrong, right?" Zhou Rui asked.

He didn't come to town specifically to see Zhang Hongbo's misfortune, but rather to prevent any unforeseen events from affecting the progress of the plan.

Zhou Rui personally went to the town to oversee things, so that any unexpected events could be resolved on the spot.

"Everything went smoothly. The wood factory placed an order, and they're loading the goods now. The wine you brought was also given to Zhang Hongbo, and the two of them drank a whole bottle."

"I saw it. More than an hour later, Zhang Hongbo's face was still red and he couldn't get down at all."

Tong Lei paused at this point.

"Hey Rui, I brought two bottles of this liquor, and there's one left...hehe..."

"You want it." Zhou Rui only glanced at him before understanding what he meant.

"Keep it if you like. But since you're not married yet, take it easy when you want to drink it. Just drink a tiny bit. This liquor is quite strong."

As Zhou Rui spoke, he gestured with his hand to a spot about the size of a fingernail.

When the senior brother got this wine from Gu Shaofeng, he said that in addition to deer antler and deer blood as the base, he also added some Chinese herbs that nourish yin and strengthen yang, such as Cistanche deserticola and Aoaojiao.

If a normal person drank it, the old women in the family might not be able to handle it.

"Hehe, I understand, I know. Don't worry, Brother Rui, I've got it figured out."

Tong Lei beamed with joy and kept assuring Zhou Rui. But judging from his expression, Zhou Rui clearly wasn't listening to him.

However, Zhou Rui let him have his way. After all, it wasn't Zhou Rui who made him drink it, and if anything went wrong because of this bottle of wine, they wouldn't be able to find him.

Who knows, maybe this bottle of wine will lead to some good marriage? Who can say for sure?

As darkness fell, Zhou Rui's steamed buns were no longer needed.

Tong Lei led Zhou Rui into the woodworking factory and onto the third floor of a tenement building.

They opened the door with the key and got some food from the woodworking factory's canteen, which they heard was cooked by Chef Zhang Hongbo.

A dining table is placed by the window, from which you can see the factory gate, the canteen, and the workers loading goods onto trucks.

"Where is this?" Zhou Rui asked.

"This is my buddy's dorm. Don't worry, Rui, my buddy likes to gamble. I gave him five yuan, and he won't be back tonight. Nobody knows you were here."

Zhou Rui nodded. Despite his young age, Tong Lei was quite mature in his work. That was why he liked to collaborate with Tong Lei.

"What did they say about the car?"

"It's all taken care of. I found a master mechanic from the factory who specializes in maintaining this car. Although he didn't explain how, he assured me that the car would stall within five miles of leaving the factory."

Zhou Rui remained silent. Things had come to this point, and he had done everything he could.

If he fails, even if Zhao Zhigang doesn't come back, he will still expose the matter, just not as big a fuss as he had imagined.

"Have you found someone to deliver the message to Zhang Hongbo's wife?"

Zhou Rui asked about each matter carefully, as if he wanted to go through every single detail.

Having planned for so long, he hoped this would give him a perfect ending, so everyone who was supposed to be there was present, and that was good enough.

"I've found a child, around ten years old. I promised to give him three White Rabbit candies, and he'll tell him to shout loudly near Chef Zhang's house whenever he sees Zhao Zhigang come home. I guarantee his wife will hear him and come over immediately."

A smile appeared on Zhou Rui's face; he thought Tong Lei had handled this matter very well.

He accomplished something big with just a few candies. He had originally thought he would have to pay an adult to do such a thing.

Unexpectedly, Tong Lei thought of things more thoroughly. Using children is much less troublesome than using adults, and it's also less likely to be noticed by others.

Perhaps initially, Tong Lei was just trying to save money, but the result might have been better.