Rebirth in 1972: Redemption in Changbai Mountain

The rain that had lasted for five days finally stopped. After staying home for so many days, eating cured meat every day, everyone was tired of it. There weren't even any wild vegetables left, and the vegetables in the garden hadn't even grown yet. During this time, Zhou Rui even slaughtered the pheasant he used to raise and stewed it with some dried mushrooms. Today, with the rain stopped, Zhou Rui decided to cook something nice to eat.

"Pingwa, take some money to Uncle Fugui's house and buy some tofu. I'll make crayfish tofu and braised tofu for you. Also, go to Aunt Changchun's house and ask for some scallions and greens. We haven't had any fresh vegetables for days."

"Second Brother, where did these crayfish come from?" Zhou Ping asked curiously, not seeing Zhou Rui go out to catch them.

"There haven't been any good dishes these past few days, so I thought I'd make two shrimp traps. I went to the ditch by the stream last night in the dark and set them, using up a lot of pork lard. I picked up the traps this morning; they weighed about four or five pounds. Oh, and I'll pour half of it out and take it to Aunt Changchun. Uncle Kangri's crayfish tofu is really good."

"Okay, I'll go buy tofu right now." Zhou Ping was eager to set off as soon as he heard there was something delicious to eat.

Just then, An'an, who was playing in the puddles in the yard, heard this and quickly came over to hug Zhou Ping's leg.

"Where are we going? I want to go too! I want to go too!"

"Why don't you go? Third Brother is going to the village to buy tofu. The road is all muddy and difficult to walk on; you'll slip and fall," Zhou Ping advised carefully.

"No, no! I want to go!" An'an hugged Zhou Ping's leg and shook it incessantly.

"Take her with you, she's already dirty anyway, it doesn't matter," Zhou Rui said, pointing to An'an's pants.

The main problem is that it's been raining for so many days, and even adults get irritable staying indoors, let alone children. I bet right now, all the adults in the village can't keep these kids from running around outside, and nobody cares if their clothes get dirty.

"You don't need to rush back after you buy the tofu. Take her to play in the village a little longer," Zhou Rui said with a smile.

After Zhou Ping took An'an out, Zhou Rui was also anxious. He first changed Xiao Niangao's diaper after she woke up, and then fed her some well-cooked rice and minced meat porridge. Since Xiao Niangao had been drinking milk for two months and had grown strong, Zhou Rui had gradually added some meat to her diet, such as chopped chicken or fish.

Carefully carrying the little rice cake on his back, Zhou Rui sat by the pond in the backyard and began processing the crayfish. This was a delicate task; first, the shrimp vein had to be removed, then the hard shell on the back had to be peeled off to extract the shrimp roe. After all the crayfish were processed, they were crushed and the juice was repeatedly squeezed out using gauze.

Then he cleaned out a few crucian carp, intending to stew them once Zhou Ping bought the tofu.

Around lunchtime, Zhou Ping returned with An'an, and as expected, she was covered in mud, even her face. Luckily, Zhou Rui had come prepared and boiled a large pot of water.

When An'an came in, Xiao Niangao was bouncing around in Zhou Rui's arms, and An'an rushed over to hug her.

Zhou Rui quickly reached out and held An An's head back: "Don't come any closer. Look at the state you're in. Do you want Little Rice Cake to look like this too?"

"Hehe...I missed Xiao Nian Gao, didn't I? Look, Xiao Nian Gao wants me to hold her." An An pointed at Xiao Nian Gao.

When Zhou Rui looked, it was true. Little Niangao was struggling to move forward in Zhou Rui's arms, wanting to play with this little girl covered in mud.

"Alright, go take a bath now. You can play with Xiaoniangao after you're done." Zhou Rui gently pushed An'an's head forward with his hand. "Pingwa, take her to take a bath, there's water in the pot."

Left with no other choice, Zhou Ping put down the vegetables he was holding and dragged An'an to take a bath.

Zhou Rui, holding Xiao Niangao, picked up the vegetables. Perfect timing, now that they had tofu, they could stew the fish. Just as Zhou Rui was cooking, An'an, still with her hair down after her bath, came over to hug Xiao Niangao.

Zhou Rui quickly untied the little rice cake from his back and handed it to her: "Be careful, don't fall. Why are you in such a hurry to pick her up?"

"I just went out to the fields to catch loaches, it was so much fun! I'm going to tell Xiaoniangao about it."

"Where are the loaches? I haven't seen them."

"It's in my pocket. I just put it in the sink."

I said I saw An'an's pocket was bulging earlier, and I thought it was snacks from Aunt Changchun, but it turned out to be loaches.

"Go ahead and tell Little Rice Cake about your great achievements so she knows. Tell her more often so she can learn to speak sooner."

"Okay," An'an said loudly, carrying Xiao Nian Gao into the inner room.

Without An'an causing trouble, Zhou Rui quickly prepared four dishes: crucian carp stew with tofu, crayfish tofu, braised tofu, and cold lettuce salad.

First, he drank a bowl of rich and flavorful crayfish tofu, then picked up a piece of braised tofu with his chopsticks—so refreshing! Zhou Rui ate his food while feeding Xiao Nian Gao small bites of the cooled crayfish tofu; his appetite was much better than in the past few days. But not long after, Zhou Rui heard the sound of a bicycle bell outside—guests from afar had arrived.

Who could it be? No one in the village would ride a bicycle to his door. Zhou Rui thought to himself, handed the little rice cake to Zhou Ping, and pushed open the door to go out.

Two people pushed bicycles into the yard. The one in the lead was Wang Shouye, followed by a young man in his twenties and six or seven dogs.

"Uncle Wang, what brings you here? Have you eaten? If not, have a bite to eat." Zhou Rui greeted Wang Shouye with a smile.

"I haven't eaten yet. Last time I heard Dazhuzi say that your cooking skills are better than his, so I thought I'd just come to your house for a meal." Wang Shouye said with a smile, "Let me introduce you, this is Gu Shaofeng, from Gujiatun, call him Senior Brother Gu."

Zhou Rui glanced at the newcomer and saw that he had sharp eyebrows and bright eyes, a righteous face, but also an air of arrogance.

"Greetings, Senior Brother Gu." Zhou Rui bowed respectfully with his hands clasped.

Gu Shaofeng nodded to him and said, "Hello, Brother Zhou."

Zhou Rui wondered if this meant they didn't approve of him. He called him "senior brother," but Zhou Rui called him "brother." However, Zhou Rui's expression didn't change much. Whether they approved of him or not wasn't important; having the skills was what mattered.

Zhou Rui greeted the two with a smile, ushering them into the house: "Come in, come in. In this weather, have a good drink to get rid of the dampness."

"Pingwa, go get a bottle of wine and pour some for Uncle Wang and Brother Gu. I'll go to the kitchen and cook a couple of dishes," Zhou Rui instructed Zhou Ping.

"Oh, crayfish tofu, this is a rare delicacy! There's also crucian carp stewed with tofu and braised tofu, this is a tofu feast! Don't bother with all this food, sit down and eat together, we have something to say."

"No, there's food ready in the kitchen, it'll be ready in a bit. Please sit down and have some food, I'll be right there." Zhou Rui wasn't just being polite; with two burly men added, the food really wasn't enough.

There wasn't much else at home, but plenty of cured meat. Zhou Rui picked out a piece of lean and fatty wild boar from the smoked wild boar in the kitchen, sliced ​​it into translucent thin slices, chopped up a smoked pheasant, and stir-fried it directly with dried chili peppers. Before long, Zhou Rui brought a large bowl, overflowing with meat, to the table.

"Come and try it. I'm not exaggerating, this dish is perfect with drinks."

"You don't need to brag. We just ate some, and it really was delicious," Wang Shouye praised.

"It's delicious." Gu Shaofeng nodded in agreement. He was a little unconvinced that his master had praised his marksmanship, but Zhou Rui's cooking was indeed excellent.

Zhou Rui sat down, picked up the wine Zhou Ping had poured for him, and first toasted the two men. Looking at the pile of things the two had placed on the kang (heated brick bed), including two items covered with long cloth bags, it seemed they had both brought guns, and that something serious must have happened.