Rebirth in 1972: Redemption in Changbai Mountain

The next morning, Zhou Rui got up before dawn. Pheasants forage in the early morning and late afternoon, which is the best time to hunt them. Yes, Zhou Rui's target for the day was pheasants, because he wanted to use the chicken soup to exchange for milk from Zhao Dazhu's family.

Zhou Rui went to the next room and woke up Zhou Ping. Zhou Ping slept in a room by himself, while Zhou Rui slept with his younger sister and Xiao Niangao, mainly because his third brother was still too young and he was afraid he wouldn't be able to take care of him.

"Pingwa, get up."

"Second brother, what's wrong? It's not even dawn yet." Zhou Ping sat up groggily; the room was still pitch black.

"Go to sleep, and keep an eye on An'an and Xiao Niangao," Zhou Rui said in a low voice.

"Hmm, Second Brother, where are you going?"

"I asked my fifth grandfather to make me a slingshot yesterday. Let's see if we can shoot a pheasant. You and An'an haven't had meat in a long time."

"Really? Second Brother, will we really get meat to eat?" Zhou Ping was wide awake immediately.

"Shh... Keep your voice down, don't wake them. There are steamed buns in the pot, you can eat them when you wake up."

"Okay, Second Brother, come back soon."

Zhou Rui's village was the furthest from the town, located in Jiaolong Gorge, a place known for its barren mountains and harsh waters. What is a gorge? It's a gorge between two mountains with a stream flowing through it. The name itself reveals how poor their village was. Moreover, after the Cultural Revolution, not a single landlord could be found in their village, which gives you an idea of ​​how little land they owned. Fortunately, years ago, the village committee utilized the Jiaolong Stream in the gorge, digging a large pit of over ten acres on a saline-alkali patch beside the stream to raise fish, which supplemented the collective income somewhat. However, it must be said that Zhou Rui's village had quite a few mushrooms, wild vegetables, pheasants, and rabbits; otherwise, with such a small amount of land in this impoverished mountain valley, it wouldn't have been able to support several hundred people.

Although there aren't many hunters in the village, most of them know how to set traps and can usually catch something from the beginning to the end of the year, which is how they support the hundreds of villagers. Zhou Rui doesn't know how to set traps, so he got a slingshot, and he'll need to get a gun later.

Zhou Rui started his ascent up the mountain from a small path upstream of the Jiaolong Creek in the village. He remembered that there was a patch of wasteland to the south after he reached the top of the mountain, where pheasants and rabbits were plentiful. Once there, Zhou Rui found a relatively high spot and surveyed his surroundings in the morning light.

As a gentle breeze blew by, Zhou Rui inhaled the fresh scent of grass and trees in the air and suddenly realized that he seemed to be able to read the messages from these mountains. Although the messages weren't very clear, it seemed that he could sense where there were advantages and dangers.

Zhou Rui wondered if he was hallucinating because he was confused.

Following the information in his mind, Zhou Rui walked forward and found a clump of mushrooms. He quickly picked them and put them in his basket. He then walked to another area where he felt a chill, and just as the feeling was getting stronger, one of his feet sank into the mud. It turned out that there was a puddle hidden in the seemingly lush vegetation. If Zhou Rui hadn't walked slowly, he might have sunk in completely.

So it's true, Zhou Rui thought. With this ability, hunting will be twice as efficient! Increased harvest, reduced danger—this is a hunting godsend! But how did he acquire this ability? He didn't have this ability in his past life.

Could it be the black-glowing Tai Chi Bagua plaque from before he died that was responsible? Light, black light. Can light be black? Lost in thought, Zhou Rui's mind wandered. Perhaps there are other abilities yet to be discovered. Whatever, since heaven has given him this ability, he'll make good use of it to give his younger siblings and niece a better life.

Zhou Rui calmed himself down and slowly moved forward, guided by the positive thoughts in his mind. He heard rustling sounds coming from ahead. Something seemed to have appeared in the grass ahead; two furry things were moving on the weeds. Upon closer inspection, he realized it was a rabbit.

Zhou Rui crouched down, took out his slingshot from his waist, loaded it with the mud pellets he'd dried in the kitchen the night before, and stretched the rubber band taut. He watched as the rabbit, having eaten some tender grass, moved to another spot. As it crept along, its head emerged from between two clumps of grass. With a crisp snap, the rabbit collapsed without a sound. Zhou Rui quickly ran over, picked it up, and weighed it in his hand—at least five or six pounds. Not bad, not bad at all; a good start.

Zhou Rui quickly took out his machete and slit his throat to bleed him; otherwise, the blood would pool and the meat wouldn't taste good. After finishing, Zhou Rui looked at the machete in his hand and thought that he still needed to get a new, sharper one; otherwise, this machete was too dull and unusable.

Hanging the rabbit on his waist, Zhou Rui closed his eyes and sensed the information coming from ahead, even stronger than the feeling from the rabbit earlier. It was the smell of meat, Zhou Rui thought.

Zhou Rui used a stick to push aside the weeds and slowly made his way forward. Although he didn't smell any danger ahead, there were many snakes and insects in the grass, and being bitten by any of them would not be a good thing.

Cluck...cluck... As Zhou Rui neared the edge of the grassland, he heard a sound beside him—a pheasant. He quickly slowed his pace, becoming increasingly agile, trying to avoid making any noise. Pheasants are particularly timid; the slightest sound would likely send them fleeing.

Zhou Rui crouched down, slowly peeking out. He saw two larger pheasants leading a flock of smaller ones foraging for food. The two larger ones were quite alert, pecking at the grass seeds a couple of times before glancing back. Zhou Rui silently took out two mud pellets, one hidden in a rubber band and the other in his palm. He prepared to take down both of the larger ones.

Whoosh, thud—one pheasant fell, and a flock of pheasants flew into the air. Whoosh, thud—two seconds later, a mud pellet struck another large pheasant in mid-air. By the time Zhou Rui stood up straight, a flock of smaller pheasants had already disappeared into the bushes, too late to catch up.

Zhou Rui didn't care about that; he hadn't planned to make that many anyway. The weather was getting warmer, and he wouldn't be able to store too many anyway. If he didn't have enough to eat, he could just make more.

The main reason is that we just moved to a new house, and the house is a bit far from the village. My younger siblings are still young, so I'm afraid they might feel uneasy. Going back sooner will put their minds at ease.

Zhou Rui followed suit, slit the throat to let the pheasant bleed, carefully put it in the basket, then put the rabbit in as well, and then put the mushrooms he had picked at the beginning on top to prevent them from being crushed.

Looking at the sun in the sky, Zhou Rui decided to head back. He thought he might pick some wild vegetables and mushrooms while he was at it, since he was out of food at home. They had just moved, and their private plot of land wasn't even cultivated yet.

Carrying his spoils, Zhou Rui strolled leisurely home, his gait revealing his good mood.

Half of the rabbit was given to Grandpa Wu, and the other was stewed. The pheasants weren't big, each weighing two or three pounds. One was used for soup, and the other was braised. An'an would definitely be drooling with envy.

Passing by the stream, Zhou Rui was unbearably hot, so he quickly squatted down, scooped up some water, splashed it on his face, and wiped it with his hand—refreshing! Just as he was about to get up, he saw a bend in the stream about three meters ahead, with several dark shadows floating on the bottom. Hmm, fish. He looked around, but didn't have any tools. Oh well, he'd bring some tomorrow to catch them.

Before we even got home, we could see Zhou Ping playing with his younger sister under a tree outside the yard, and he kept turning back to look in our direction.

"Pingwa... An'an..."

"elder brother……"

"Second brother, you're back."

Two figures, one large and one small, ran towards the distance. Zhou Rui watched them for a long time until his eyes reddened. This was a scene he often dreamed about in his past life.