Rebirth in 1972: Redemption in Changbai Mountain

Zhou Rui turned his head and saw a young man wearing glasses and with a middle parting shouting. Seeing Zhou Rui turn around, the young man quickly continued, "It's you, kid, come here."

Zhou Rui frowned, somewhat displeased. This person kept calling him a "little brat," spoke rudely, and acted bossy; he didn't seem like a good person. However, Zhou Rui still decided to go and see if there was anything wrong.

"Comrade, what can I do for you?" Zhou Rui, with a small rice cake hanging from his chest and holding An'an's hand, walked up to the bespectacled man before speaking.

Unexpectedly, the bespectacled man became impatient: "Why are you so slow? Kid, here's the thing. We just came to the countryside, we've been on the train for several days, and we haven't recovered yet. Could you help us hoe the fields?"

Zhou Rui stared at him silently, while the other educated youth watched from the side. The two female educated youths looked embarrassed, while the other two male educated youths looked like they were watching a show, as if they wanted to see how their companion would tease the country children.

"I won't let you help me for nothing. If you help us hoe the ground, I'll treat you to candy. Look, White Rabbit candy, haven't seen it before, have you?" The bespectacled man took out a few White Rabbit candies from his pocket and waved them in front of Zhou Rui.

Zhou Rui was initially confused, but then felt a surge of anger: "First of all, you're not much older than me, so please don't call me a little kid. If you're polite, please call me 'comrade,' or at least 'little brother.' Secondly, although I'm from the countryside, I've still eaten White Rabbit candy before, so you don't need to brag about it."

Upon hearing Zhou Rui's words, the bespectacled man's face flushed red, and he looked furious. Several other educated youths nearby also gaped in astonishment.

Seeing that the bespectacled man was about to get angry, Zhou Rui quickly interrupted: "Third, I know you've been in the village for a week now. Saying you haven't recovered is just an excuse; you just want to slack off. You're all educated youth sent to the countryside to revitalize the rural areas and hone your skills, not to slack off and fool the people."

I'm from a rural area, but I've also received an education and can read newspapers. Educated youth going to the countryside should bring technology and knowledge to help revitalize rural areas, not deceive the people.

"I hope you can work hard, help the people, and train yourselves. Goodbye." Zhou Rui saw the bespectacled man's face turn from red to white, and then from white to black. He knew the man was about to lose his temper, so he grabbed An'an's hand and ran away to prevent the educated youth from getting angry and resorting to violence.

Although there were only a few of them, and Zhou Rui could easily beat them to tears with one hand, that would be asking for trouble. If these educated youths complained to the village chief, Zhou Rui would inevitably get a lecture.

Seeing Zhou Rui turn and run away after he finished speaking, Glasses pointed at his retreating figure with a trembling finger, too angry to speak.

A long-faced educated youth next to them turned around and asked another educated youth, "Meng Huaiyuan, did we get taught a lesson by those country bumpkins?"

The young man next to him, Meng Huaiyuan, was still reasonably minded and hadn't been corrupted. Seeing the long-faced educated youth say this, he quickly interjected, "Xu Jun, don't call him that. He just said to call him 'comrade.' And it was indeed our fault just now."

"What did we do wrong? I didn't say anything. He was just lecturing us," Xu Jun argued.

"Xu Jun, what do you mean? You're saying I was wrong? Who was it that agreed to call people to help hoe the field? They even said they were just a few country bumpkins who could be easily fooled with a few candies. What's wrong? Now that they've been taught a lesson, they're blaming it all on me." The bespectacled man shouted angrily when he heard Xu Jun say this.

"Wei Dazhi, what are you yelling about? I was just saying it, I didn't tell you to actually do it. Besides, I got a lecture from that kid too." Xu Jun got angry when he saw Wei Dazhi targeting him.

"Alright, stop arguing. It's not worth it over such a small thing. Let's get to work so we can have fresh vegetables to eat sooner." Meng Huaiyuan quickly stepped in to smooth things over when he saw the two arguing.

Wei Dazhi threw down his hoe: "I'm not doing it anymore. Whoever wants to do it can do it. You despicable scoundrel, you said you'd call for help, I called some people, they gave me a dressing down, and you just stood there watching."

"Say it again, who are you calling despicable?" Xu Jun shouted at Meng Huaiyuan from across the room, but he didn't step forward. He was clearly a coward who was all bark and no bite.

The two female educated youths nearby ignored the male educated youths' farce and whispered among themselves.

"Lin Qiuyue, who do you think that young comrade is? He can spout off a whole bunch of profound principles, and I was completely dumbfounded listening to him." The pretty young woman, a former educated youth, was very impressed with Zhou Rui.

Lin Qiuyue has a round face, rosy and fair skin, and her baby fat hasn't faded yet.

"I don't know either, it was the first time I met him. But I thought he was really impressive. He looks a little younger than us, but he speaks like a leader. I didn't dare to say anything just now. Yang Ping, do you think he might be the village chief's son?" Lin Qiuyue said softly.

Actually, Zhou Rui had seen them the day the educated youth arrived. However, Lin Qiuyue was rather timid. With so many villagers watching them that day, Lin Qiuyue kept her head down shyly and couldn't remember anyone at all.

Although Yang Ping was a little bolder than Lin Qiuyue, there were too many people that day, and she didn't even notice Zhou Rui hiding behind the crowd.

"No, I borrowed an iron pot from the village chief last time, but his grandson is already ten years old, and he doesn't have a son that young." When everyone first arrived, they didn't have any cooking utensils, so they had to borrow from the village chief. It was only in these days that they gradually managed to get everything they needed from the supply and marketing cooperative in town.

Given that they were among the first batch of educated youth to arrive at Jiaolong Gorge, the commune leaders made a special exception and confiscated their ration coupons; otherwise, they wouldn't have been able to buy even an iron pot.

"Those are high school students like us, the kind with really good grades."

"Why don't I see any adults in their family? Just a few kids, including a baby, farming such a big plot of land."

"Yeah, look at us, all grown up, and we've only hoeed such a small patch of land this morning. I feel a little ashamed. Especially that little girl just now, she looked at us like we were idiots. Are we really that stupid?" Lin Qiuyue felt particularly inferior at this moment, being looked down upon by a little girl who was only a few years old.

"No, we've just never farmed before and we're not very good at farm work, but we can learn. We're all high school students, surely we can overcome this little difficulty." Yang Ping, being rather carefree, couldn't see what An An was thinking and kept comforting Lin Qiuyue.

"Yes, we will work hard to learn how to farm, help farmers learn knowledge and culture, and also train and hone ourselves. Comrade Yang Ping, let's cheer each other on." Lin Qiuyue extended her right hand, her expression serious.

Yang Ping blinked. "I was just trying to comfort you, why are you getting so worked up?" Confused, Yang Ping reached out and shook hands with Lin Qiuyue, giving her a firm shake. "Comrade, keep going!"

"What are you two doing?" Meng Huaiyuan looked at the two of them acting like teenagers and felt something was off.

Lin Qiuyue and Yang Ping were suddenly awakened by Meng Huaiyuan and were startled. When they turned around, they saw that only Meng Huaiyuan was standing beside them.

"Where are the two of them?" Yang Ping wondered. After talking for a while, they disappeared.

"They had a fight and neither of them wanted to work anymore, so let's go home too. We'll come back to hoe the fields next time." After saying that, he turned and left, leaving Lin Qiuyue and Yang Ping looking at each other in bewilderment.