Rebirth in 1972: Redemption in Changbai Mountain

Lin Qiuyue felt hot all over as soon as she opened her eyes. When she was still half asleep, she realized that she was hanging in Zhou Rui's arms. This guy had returned without her noticing.

She tried to get up, but her arms and legs felt as weak as noodles, and she couldn't muster any strength. So she closed her eyes and nuzzled against his neck, her nose catching a faint scent of sweat mixed with the aroma of grass and trees dried by the mountain breeze—surprisingly pleasant.

"Well……"

A soft moan suddenly came from behind her, startling Lin Qiuyue so much that she almost jumped off the bed.

Looking back, An'an and Xiaoniangao were fast asleep, drooling almost onto their pillows. They hadn't woken up at all. It turned out that the noise just now was one of the sleepyheads talking in their sleep.

She fanned her face lightly twice, as if she had done something wrong. Her cheeks were burning hot, as if she had a slight fever.

After waiting for a long time, the three figures on the kang remained quiet, and her heart, which had been in her throat, slowly settled down.

She turned her head to examine Zhou Rui closely. Although they had only been apart for a short ten days, it looked like they had been separated for more than half a year.

His features were no different from before, except for a few very fine, shallow scars on his cheeks. Lin Qiuyue gently traced the scars with her fingertips and knew without a doubt that they were marks left by the sharp blades of grass in the mountains.

"Autumn Moon! Autumn Moon!"

Suddenly, there was a knocking sound at the gate. Zhou Rui's eyelashes trembled, and his tired eyes slowly opened.

Lin Qiuyue recoiled as if burned: "Yang Ping is calling me from outside. Lie down a little longer, I'll go out and see what's going on."

Zhou Rui blinked groggily, not fully awake from his deep sleep. Just moments ago, there was a faint scent of face cream lingering in his nose, but now it had suddenly dissipated.

He turned his head and glanced at the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed). The two little ones were sleeping soundly, showing no sign of waking up.

Zhou Rui moved to the side, scooped up a soft, chubby baby and hugged it to his arms. He soon fell into a deep sleep again.

As soon as the door was opened a crack, Lin Qiuyue immediately put her index finger to her lips and gestured for Yang Ping to be quiet: "Shh... keep your voice down, don't wake him up."

"Him? Which 'him'?" Yang Ping's eyes lit up, a mischievous smile instantly spreading across them. "Oh, your Zhou Rui's back?"

She knew perfectly well that if she were talking about An'an or Xiaoniangao, Lin Qiuyue would have called her by her nickname long ago. The only person she would protect so much and only call him "him" was Zhou Rui.

"Get lost, stop being so glib." Lin Qiuyue's cheeks flushed, and she quickly changed the subject. She knew all too well that she was no match for Yang Ping when it came to arguing and teasing.

"Why did you rush over so early in the morning? What happened?"

"Oh dear, look at me, I almost forgot about the important matter."

Yang Ping slapped her forehead: "Sitian kicked off the blanket in the middle of the night because she was feeling cold, and she woke up this morning with a stomachache so bad she was crying. I came to ask if you have any brown sugar, and if you can lend me some."

"You wait!" Lin Qiuyue turned and ran into the house, found the brown sugar jar, and quickly turned back, grabbing Yang Ping's wrist.

"Don't delay, hurry up, I'll go with you and make her a bowl of hot brown sugar ginger tea to warm her up."

Since Zhou Rui returned from the mountains, life seems to have returned to its warm and peaceful routine.

An'an became Zhou Rui's little shadow, following behind him while chopping wood, clutching a small wooden axe, and bouncing along at his feet while fetching water, never leaving his side.

The little rice cake was hanging directly on Zhou Rui's neck, like a little sloth that he couldn't shake off. He wouldn't even let go while eating, for fear that his second uncle, who had just returned home, would leave again.

No one in the village knew that Zhou Rui had gone to Honglangtou City; they just thought he had gone hunting in the mountains and returned empty-handed.

During lunch, Lin Qiuyue went out with her bowl and didn't come back for a while. Zhou Rui looked at the empty porcelain bowl in her hand and couldn't help but ask her a question.

"Yu Sitian finished eating, how's it going?"

"Hmm, it's alright now, I've finished all the millet porridge." Lin Qiuyue wiped the sweat from her nose, no longer as nervous as she was in the morning.

Zhou Rui nodded, understanding Lin Qiuyue's feelings. Yu Sitian was different from others; she was her childhood playmate, the only remaining source of comfort and warmth she could feel while wandering thousands of miles away.

"Once Sitian is completely better, you have to give her a good talking-to. This place isn't as warm as Shanghai. Even in summer, it gets quite chilly at night. If she keeps kicking off the covers like this, she'll get an upset stomach again next time."

"Second Brother, is Sister Sitian being naughty?" An'an looked up at Zhou Rui with her bright eyes, waiting for him to give her a positive answer.

"Yes, your sister Sitian is so naughty. She won't cover herself properly with the blanket at night, and this morning she woke up with a stomachache and cried. You must never be like her."

Zhou Rui didn't beat around the bush at all; he took the opportunity to give An'an a heads-up.

An'an just got his own little room recently, and he sleeps alone most of the time. He's worried that he might not be able to take good care of him and that the little guy might kick off the blankets at night and catch a cold.

To his surprise, An'an completely ignored his comment and turned to Lin Qiuyue, asking, "Sister-in-law, Sitian is being naughty. Will you punish her by making her stand next to us and watch us eat?"

"Pfft." Lin Qiuyue couldn't help but spray rice all over the table.

Zhou Ping, standing nearby, silently moved his rice bowl further away, his face clearly showing his disgust. Even if it was his sister-in-law, no one would want to eat rice that had been contaminated with someone else's grains.

Zhou Rui was completely confused and looked up at Lin Qiuyue with a puzzled expression.

Lin Qiuyue covered her mouth and laughed for a long time before telling Zhou Rui the whole story of how An'an had caused a ruckus with the two little ones yesterday and was eventually punished by being made to stand by the table and watch everyone eat. Zhou Rui was so amused that his shoulders were shaking.

Finally, under An An's angry, warning gaze, Zhou Rui managed to suppress his laughter and dawdled for a long time before finishing the rice in his bowl.

He had barely put down his chopsticks when Zhou Ping had already vanished in a flash.

Before, when Zhou Rui wasn't home, he had to stay home like a little man. Now that his second brother is back, it's time for him to have a good time and let loose.

Zhou Rui first sent An'an and Xiao Niangao to play in the yard. When Lin Qiuyue started to tidy up the table, he suddenly called out to her.

"Qiuyue, there's something I'd like to discuss with you."

Lin Qiuyue was taken aback, a little puzzled. What could possibly require sending the child away to discuss?

She had just sat down with a serious expression when Zhou Rui laughed out loud: "Don't be so serious, it's a good thing."

He poured Lin Qiuyue a glass of warm water and handed it to her: "I just came back from Zhang Zhenbei's place yesterday. He's been promoted to acting director."

"The forest farm is setting up a new internal supply and marketing store, which will create several extra positions for full-time workers. Zhang Zhenbei specially reserved one for me."

"A permanent employee position? You got it?" Lin Qiuyue's eyes widened suddenly, and her voice unconsciously rose a few decibels.

"Hmm." Zhou Rui looked at her wide-eyed expression and thought that her surprised little face was even cuter than usual.

"I want to ask if you'd like to go. With this job, you won't have to be stuck in the fields every day doing farm work under the scorching sun as a sent-down youth. Whether you're a sales clerk or an office accountant, it'll be much easier than it is now."

"I'm not going."