Rebirth in 1972: Redemption in Changbai Mountain

"Second brother, second brother. You're back. I missed you so much."

An'an rushed over before even reaching the edge, clinging to Zhou Rui's leg and refusing to let go. Zhou Rui quickly bent down, picked An'an up, and kissed her on her chubby face.

"You already miss your second brother after only half a day?"

"Yes, I want to." An'an hugged Zhou Rui's head and rubbed against him.

"Second brother, what did you catch?" Zhou Ping ran over at this moment.

"Let's go home and talk about it. It's not convenient here on the ridge. When we get home, I'll show you the nice things your second brother brought for you."

After a short while, Zhou Rui returned to the courtyard, closed the gate, carefully put An'an down, and then took the basket off his back.

"Wow, so many wild vegetables and mushrooms!" The second brother was delighted. After all, he was twelve years old and knew that there were no vegetables to eat at home, and the grain reserves were running out. With their work points, it was simply not enough.

"Scroll down, there's more," Zhou Rui said with a smile.

When the basket of wild vegetables and mushrooms was placed on the ground, bright feathers and gray fur were immediately revealed inside.

"Oh... pheasants, there are pheasants! And rabbits, they're huge!" An'an jumped up and down with joy.

"Really, really. One's prettier, the other's not so good-looking. This rabbit's really fat, brother, it's so big!" Zhou Ping was overjoyed. "Brother, second brother, tell me quickly, how did you catch it?"

"Haha... Your second brother is amazing, right? I'll do this... and then this..." Zhou Rui looked at his younger siblings' admiring eyes and became even happier.

"Pingwa, go boil some water. I'm going to pluck the pheasant feathers."

"Second Brother, can I have that pretty hair? Er Ya has a few, and it looks so pretty when she wears it in her hair." An An blinked her watery eyes and stared intently at Zhou Rui, as if afraid that he would refuse. Zhou Rui couldn't keep his eyes on her.

"Okay, okay, here you go. Go to the kitchen and get the cleaver for your second brother. Before the water boils, I'll clean up the rabbit first."

"Okay, Second Brother." After saying that, he turned and ran towards the kitchen.

After An'an brought the kitchen knife, Zhou Rui hung the rabbit up. He made a few cuts on the rabbit first, then carefully pulled the skin down from above. "Not bad, my skills haven't deteriorated," Zhou Rui thought to himself, holding the rabbit skin. Spring rabbit fur isn't as good as winter fur; it's already starting to shed, but it's still much better than summer fur. He could make a pair of gloves for An'an or a hat for Xiao Niangao. As for Pingwazi, Zhou Rui hadn't thought about it at all.

There was no knife at home, so Zhou Rui picked up a relatively smooth piece of wood from the woodpile and carefully scraped the grease off the rabbit skin, being very gentle so as not to damage it. Then he prepared the rabbit meat, chopping it up, making sure not to throw away the innards, as they would be needed for catching fish tomorrow. Zhou Rui finished arranging everything and had just gotten up to ask Zhou Ping if the water was boiling when he heard a loud "whoosh" from inside the house.

Zhou Rui quickly splashed his hands in the water in the basin, wiped them on his clothes, and went inside.

It turned out that Xiao Niangao had peed. He quickly wiped her bottom clean with a wet towel and changed her diaper. Well, he'd have to carry her on his back now that she was awake. Zhou Rui had no choice but to wrap Xiao Niangao in a swaddle and carry her on his back in a cloth bag.

"Come on, let's see your second uncle clean up some pheasants for you."

"Hehe...cluck." Little Rice Cake made a simple sound.

"Second Brother, the water is boiled." Zhou Ping called out from the kitchen.

"Put the water in a bucket and carry it to the yard."

Zhou Rui poured hot water over the pheasants, and in no time at all, he had them stripped bare. The pheasants looked plumage-laden, but they weren't actually very heavy. Perfect timing—he cooked them both. He made a soup with the hen and mushrooms, and braised the rooster; both were delicious.

Zhou Rui picked up two pheasants and headed towards the kitchen.

"Pingwa, take this half of the rabbit to Fifth Grandfather. Put it in a basket, cover it, and don't let anyone see it. Put the other half in the cupboard, and we'll cook it tonight," Zhou Rui instructed.

"Okay, Second Brother, I'll go right away."

When Zhou Ping returned home after delivering the rabbit, he smelled the aroma of stewed pheasant. An'an was drooling, sniffing the pot incessantly and asking repeatedly, "Second Brother, is the pheasant cooked yet?"

"Not yet, wait a bit."

"Second Brother, Fifth Grandfather said you're this one." Zhou Ping gave a thumbs-up. "You're eating meat on your very first day."

Zhou Rui smiled but remained silent in response to Zhou Ping's praise, his hands now free to watch the fire. One pot was still too few; he needed to buy another one so he could simmer the soup and stir-fry the vegetables at the same time. Waiting here like this was taking too much time. Finally, the soup was ready, and Zhou Rui quickly served two bowls to An'an and Pingwa.

"Here, try the soup I cooked, is it good?"

An'an and Pingwa took the bowl and blew on it to cool it down; it was too hot.

Just as Zhou Rui was ladling out all the chicken soup, a bowl was thrust in front of him.

"Here, second brother, have a sip first, I'll blow on it to cool it down." An'an said to Zhou Rui, holding the bowl in both hands.

Zhou Rui was stunned for a moment before lowering his head and taking a sip from the bowl in An An's hand. It was sweet; the pheasant soup with a little salt was sweet to the core.

Turning her head again, she saw Zhou Ping holding a bowl, drinking soup in large gulps, and occasionally taking a bite of chicken. Well, this brat is hopeless. It's only thanks to his sister that he's so considerate. From now on, she'll always give An'an the best things.

Zhou Ping was drinking chicken soup when he suddenly felt a chill on the back of his head. There was no wind around. He decided to ignore it and continued drinking, burying his face in the soup again.

After the other chicken was cooked, Zhou Rui brought all the food to the table, then ladled out more than half a bowl of chicken soup into a large bowl. He used the basket Zhou Ping had given him for the rabbit earlier to carry it, and covered it.

"An'an, Pingwa, you two eat first. I'm going out for a bit to get Xiaoniangao some fresh milk."

"Second brother, I understand." This was Zhou Ping, who was carefree and oblivious.

"Second Brother, can't Little Rice Cake eat meat and drink soup?" This is the kind-hearted and unparalleled little princess.

"Not yet. Firstly, Xiao Niangao is still too young and hasn't had any meat yet, so her stomach won't be able to handle it. Secondly, since that woman left, Xiao Niangao hasn't had any milk for a long time, so she's malnourished and not as strong. We'll give her chicken soup when she's a little older, and An'an can feed her then, okay?"

"Okay, I'll definitely fatten Xiao Nian Gao up, even fatter than Er Ya's little brother."

After Zhao Dazhu got married, he separated from his family, and his family built him two rooms on the outskirts of the village. Zhou Rui didn't take the village roads; instead, he went around to Zhao Dazhu's house via the field ridges.

"Brother Dazhu, Brother Dazhu, are you home?" Zhou Rui called out from outside the courtyard wall.

A voice came from inside the house, "Who is it? The door's unlocked, come in."

Zhou Rui pushed open the door and went inside. Zhao Dazhu and his wife were eating, wild vegetable soup with cornbread.

Zhou Rui placed the basket on the kang (a heated brick bed). "Brother Dazhu, Sister-in-law Xinghua, are you eating?"

"Hey, it's Ruiwa! Have you eaten yet? Come and have a bite. What's in that basket of yours? It smells so good," Zhao Dazhu called out.

"I've already eaten, I've already eaten. This is a stewed pheasant. I know my sister-in-law just gave birth and isn't feeling well, so I hunted a pheasant this morning and brought some over to visit her." Zhou Rui opened the basket, and a rich aroma immediately filled the entire room.

Zhao Dazhu and Xinghua held steamed buns in their hands, and couldn't help but swallow hard as they smelled the aroma.

"Rui, what's going on...?" Zhao Dazhu was a little confused. They didn't usually have much contact, and Zhao Dazhu was five years older than Zhou Rui, so they didn't usually hang out together.

Sister-in-law Xinghua was clever; she understood immediately when she saw the baby on Zhou Rui's back, and patted Zhao Dazhu on the shoulder. Then she reached out to Zhou Rui and said, "Is the baby hungry? Here, give it to me. My Yan'er can't finish it."

"No, no, sister-in-law, you eat first. Only if you eat well will the child be full." Zhou Rui hurriedly brought the large bowl of chicken soup to the table. The large bowl was filled to the brim with pheasant meat and a large chicken leg, with a layer of oil floating on top, almost overflowing the bowl.

"Hey, let me take it, don't spill it." Zhao Dazhu quickly got up and took it. "You're too kind. It's such a big bowl, why didn't you leave some for your younger siblings?"

"I've left enough for them. I was just thinking my sister-in-law might need some, right? Brother Dazhu, you have to give her a lot. If she's well-nourished, the baby will grow strong."

"You can have another bowl too."

"No, I'm really full before I came, I can't drink any."

Another round of polite exchanges followed.

When Zhou Rui came out of Zhao Dazhu's house carrying Xiao Niangao, Xiao Niangao had already eaten her fill and fallen asleep. Listening to Xiao Niangao's light breathing, Zhou Rui finally smiled with satisfaction.

While clearing away the dishes, Xinghua said to Zhao Dazhu, "I heard from Mom that Ruiwa's uncle is a real scoundrel. He's been pushing his family to the brink of ruin for the sake of their house and their job at the forest farm. Ruiwa has had such a hard life."

"Yes, his grandparents are heartless, only thinking of themselves. They won't even lend a hand for their own old age, and they even side with his uncle." Zhao Dazhu said, smoking his pipe, "You really can't tell that Zhou Rui is so capable at such a young age. He's only fifteen and he's already supporting his family. He even dared to go up the mountain alone just to give his little niece some food. He's a real man. When I was fifteen, I was still playing in the mud in the fields."

"When you have free time, go visit Zhou Rui's house. If you have any extra food, feed his kid a couple of times. Zhou Rui is a kind-hearted person, and we won't lose out by associating with him in the future."

"I know, honey. Actually, I just had a baby myself, and I felt sorry for this child who has no parents..."

"well……"