Rebirth in 1972: Redemption in Changbai Mountain

A week later, Zhou Rui sat in the yard holding Xiao Niangao, the sun shining warmly on him.

It snowed a couple of days ago, not much, but it kept snowing until this morning.

The yard was covered with a thick layer of mulch, which Zhou Rui hadn't had time to clean up yet. An'an and Maoqiu had some difficulty walking around, but they were having a lot of fun.

Little Rice Cake had been frolicking in the snow for over an hour, and only when she got tired was she able to stay quietly in Zhou Rui's arms.

Ring... Ring...

The sound of a bicycle bell came from afar, heading towards the educated youth compound. Zhou Rui knew it was the postman from town, delivering mail to the educated youth.

Zhou Rui tilted his head back, squinting, the sunlight falling on his face, but he didn't even lift his eyelids. He had no distant relatives, so no one would write to him.

A cacophony of sounds erupted from the educated youth compound, some filled with surprise, others with sighs of despair, clearly indicating that some had not received letters from home.

A moment later, the sound of footsteps pushing a bicycle came from afar. Zhou Rui assumed it was the postman leaving after delivering the mail.

dong dong dong.

"Is Comrade Zhou Rui home? There's a letter for you."

Zhou Rui opened his eyes, looking completely bewildered.

"They're here."

Upon opening the gate, one sees the postman, his face weathered, pulling a letter from the mailbags hanging on either side of his bicycle.

Zhou Rui took it: "Comrade, come in and have some water."

"No, no, I've already had it."

The postman quickly waved his hand, his ruddy face revealing a spirit unique to this era.

"Here, have a cigarette."

Zhou Rui took out a pack of Daqianmen cigarettes and handed one over.

The postman didn't refuse. He'd been delivering mail in the countryside for so long and had drunk a lot of water, but rarely had anyone offered him cigarettes.

It's not that the villagers are stingy, but most of them can't even get enough to eat, so the cigarettes in their packaging at the supply and marketing cooperative are a luxury for most.

"Comrade, the snow is so thick today, the roads must be very difficult to walk on!"

"Hehe... It's not that difficult, I'm used to it."

The postman exhaled a smoke ring, as if all his fatigue had dissipated with the smoke.

"It's so cold, you must be exhausted. You must have been running around a lot today!"

"There's no other way. It snowed a few days ago, and a lot of mail piled up. My colleagues and I set off early this morning to try to visit as many places as possible and deliver the mail to everyone as quickly as possible."

"These are the thoughts of our loved ones, and we wanted to get the letters to everyone as soon as possible."

The postman spoke sincerely, and his smile was full of conviction.

Zhou Rui was filled with admiration. Postmen, whether now or in the future, are a group of people worthy of respect.

Their feet measured every inch of their motherland's land, conveying the warmth and longing of family to everyone.

After seeing the postman off, Zhou Rui walked back into the yard and sat back down in his chair.

Zhou Rui looked at the envelope and saw that it was from Tong Lei.

Zhou Rui laughed. The person was in town, such a short distance; if anything happened, he could just send someone to say a word, why send a letter?

What should have been a day's journey took several days to complete by writing the letter.

Zhou Rui opened the envelope and took out a piece of paper, which was torn from his exercise book.

Little Rice Cake is asleep right now, otherwise, she would definitely snatch it if she saw it.

"Brother Zhou Rui, it's like seeing you in person. Hmm, where did you copy this from?" Zhou Rui looked up and couldn't help but complain.

However, it seems quite absurd that Tong Lei would actually write a letter.

Zhou Rui looked back but didn't read it aloud. Tong Lei's handwriting wasn't very neat, but it was still legible.

The rest of the text is fairly normal; it simply explains the subsequent handling of Zhang Hongbo's case.

After Zhou Rui left that day, Officer Li, along with the security personnel, dragged Zhang Hongbo to the canteen, alerting even the factory workers who were eating inside.

Then, in front of all the factory workers, young and old, Li, the clerk, took the ledger and personally checked the canteen's storeroom.

Good heavens, this check really gave everyone a shock.

The rice and flour totaled 670 jin (335 kg) short, and nearly 300 jin (150 kg) of lard and vegetable oil were stolen and sold.

Zhang Hongbo even developed a habit because the theft and resale went so smoothly.

Occasionally, when I leave work and find the cafeteria empty, I'll often steal something, like a bottle of vinegar or soy sauce. Of course, it's impossible to keep track of all of this now.

This incident involved not only Zhang Hongbo, but also two other employees of the canteen; otherwise, it wouldn't have been possible to keep it a secret.

However, Zhang Hongbo was the mastermind behind this, and he took the lion's share of the illegal gains, while the other two split the profits with him.

Finally, the factory decided to dismiss Zhang Hongbo, reclaim his company-provided housing, and sell the belongings inside to cover the canteen's expenses.

As for the subsequent sentencing, the factory handed the man over to the Red Flag Commune. The commune decided to first parade Zhang Hongbo through the streets, then sentence him to twenty years of re-education through labor and send him to the most arduous and exhausting farm.

As for the fat woman, her whereabouts are unknown, because this matter ultimately implicated Zhang Hongbo's father-in-law.

Zhang Hongbo got his job at the woodworking factory because his father-in-law recommended him. Because of this, Zhang Hongbo's father-in-law was suppressed by his rivals, lost his job, and had to return to his hometown.

After reading the letter, Zhou Rui stuffed the letter and envelope into the stove.

Seeing the flames burning on the paper, Zhou Rui knew that his feud with Chef Zhang's family was completely over.

"Let's go, we'll make dumplings tonight."

Zhou Rui lifted the little rice cake high, and the little rice cake giggled and patted Zhou Rui's head.

"Come, come."

"I want more." Zhou Rui suddenly kissed Xiao Niangao.

"Fly, fly!" Zhou Rui held the little rice cake in the air and rushed into the yard.

"Gray, gray...hehe..."

"Second brother, I want one too."

Upon seeing this, An'an immediately abandoned the puppy and followed Zhou Rui, bouncing around incessantly.

"Oh?"

Zhou Rui turned around and blinked: "But Second Brother can only lift one person, right?"

"Squat down, squat down!" An'an waved her chubby little hands and kept shouting at Zhou Rui.

Zhou Rui obediently squatted down, An An took a few steps back, ran quickly, and jumped onto Zhou Rui's back, tightly hugging his neck with both hands.

"Are you sure you're safe?"

"Alright, alright. Hehe..."

"Eeya, ash, ash."

"Alright, I'll take you guys flying." Zhou Rui slowly stood up and then ran around the yard.

Wang Wang...

Three dogs chased after him, expending their boundless energy.

Mao Mao rested its head on its two front legs, tilted its head, and squinted at everything.

Outside the educated youth compound, Lin Qiuyue and Yu Sitian were walking on the road when they saw a tall figure carrying two little girls, leaping in the sunlight.

"That's wonderful," Lin Qiuyue murmured.

"It's really good," Yu Sitian agreed.

"Have you thought it through? Maybe Zhou Rui really is a good choice."

Yu Sitian looked at Lin Qiuyue's face. Although her brows relaxed slightly when she saw Zhou Rui playing with her sister and niece, she couldn't hide her worry.

It was brought by a letter from afar, and it was urgent.

"I... I'll think about it some more." Lin Qiuyue's smile faded, and she walked away into the distance.