Rebirth in 1972: Redemption in Changbai Mountain

Ignoring Gu Shaofeng's emotions, Zhou Rui continued to rummage through Tong Lei's receipts, taking anything he deemed usable, whether it was cigarette coupons, alcohol coupons, or grain coupons. Most importantly, he acquired several industrial coupons. Zhou Rui calculated whether he could buy a bicycle by the end of the year by accumulating these industrial coupons, without needing bicycle coupons.

With tickets and money, one would naturally go to the supply and marketing cooperative to shop. Otherwise, what would one do with the money? Have children? Zhou Rui, who came back from the future, had a different mindset from people of this era. Nowadays, people work themselves to the bone all year round and save up some money but are reluctant to spend it. They would rather keep it at the bottom of a trunk and let rats gnaw on it than take it out.

Dragging a listless Gu Shaofeng to the supply and marketing cooperative, they used up the watch and radio coupons they had just received. Having a radio at home would keep Zhou Ping and An'an entertained. The watch was for Zhou Ping to wear, so he would know the time while cooking and wouldn't rely solely on his stomach's rumblings. Then they bought some fabric and asked Aunt Changchun to make two more new outfits for An'an and Xiao Niangao. Since they didn't know how to wash clothes, they could make do with new ones; the important thing was that they looked clean.

Since Pingwa received a gift, An'an and Xiaoniangao couldn't forget, so they bought a cloth tiger and a rattle drum. Oh well, Xiaoyan will get one too, since she shares milk with Xiaoniangao. When Zhou Rui came out of the supply and marketing cooperative, his backpack was bulging with stuff again.

Zhou Rui had originally planned to go home, since he hadn't seen An'an and Xiao Niangao for two days and missed them a bit. But Gu Shaofeng kept pulling him along, insisting that they go to the reed marshes outside the town to see if they knew anyone there, and that he wanted to find a disco cassette tape.

Zhou Rui, feeling rather helpless, had no choice but to sit on the back of the bicycle and follow Gu Shaofeng. Upon reaching the riverbank, even before getting close to the reeds, they could already hear loud, energetic music. Sitting on the bicycle, Zhou Rui's mind momentarily went blank, as if he could hear the frenetic electronic music blaring from a car driving past him in the future.

The bicycle stopped, and the two followed a hidden path, winding their way through the reeds. Finally, they saw a patch of saline-alkali land where about a dozen people were dancing wildly, including several girls. Apart from their period-appropriate clothing, the crowd looked no different from the crowds dancing wildly in public squares in later generations, except that while they used large speakers, they were using tape recorders.

Gu Shaofeng was about to step forward with his bicycle when Zhou Rui grabbed him.

"Put your backpack down. Also, the money is in your bag, right?"

"Huh? I'm here." Gu Shaofeng paused for a moment, knowing Zhou Rui's concerns, and handed Zhou Rui the bag and rifle, then went over empty-handed.

Zhou Rui ignored him, squatting beside the car, playing with the four dogs and building a bond. After all, he would have many opportunities to work with Gu Shaofeng's pack of hunting dogs in the future.

Gu Shaofeng swayed to the music and walked over, circling the crowd a few times before finding a young man in his early twenties. The two stepped out of the crowd, talked for a while, and then pulled another person out from the crowd. Gu Shaofeng gave each person a cigarette, and the three of them lit cigarettes and talked, constantly gesturing about names.

Zhou Rui was squatting on the ground more than ten meters away from the crowd, completely invisible. At first, no one paid any attention, but then someone glanced in their direction, and then the crowd paused for a moment before four people stepped out.

As the four approached, Zhou Rui gradually raised his head.

Zhou Chen? And his cronies Chen Dabiao, Chen Erbiao, and Qian Laifu, not one is missing.

Zhou Rui stood up, still holding four dog leashes, staring blankly at his opponents, wanting to see what these defeated underlings would do.

"Ruiwa, you don't even greet your cousin anymore?" Zhou Chen said arrogantly, as if he wasn't the one who got beaten up last time.

Zhou Rui, without changing his expression, calmly called out, "Cousin."

"Uh..." Zhou Chen was momentarily speechless, not understanding why this was happening. Zhou Rui clearly didn't get along with his family, yet he could still calmly call him "cousin" in the face of his provocation. It was supposed to be a few words of provocation to provoke Zhou Rui's anger, and then a fight would break out. Last time, he was mainly caught off guard, not expecting Zhou Rui to fight so fiercely, and was caught completely off guard.

Zhou Rui didn't think so. They were blood relatives of the Zhou family, just not in contact anymore. It wasn't like he'd been expelled from the family register. Calling him "cousin" wouldn't hurt him. Besides, if anyone bullied his family again, he wouldn't hesitate to beat them up, even if they were his own uncle, calling him "uncle" while doing so, to see who would lose face.

Seeing that Zhou Chen was stunned by Zhou Rui's unconventional actions and the script was no longer working, Qian Laifu quickly stood behind Zhou Chen and muttered a few words.

"Yes, Ruiwa is sensible. Since we're cousins ​​and my brother has something to do today, could Ruiwa lend a hand?"

Zhou Rui's lips twitched involuntarily as he looked at Zhou Chen, this blockhead, and his cunning advisor behind him, and couldn't help but chuckle. How could they possibly think they would follow their script?

"It's only right for brothers to help each other. I came to town today and managed to exchange some grain for cloth coupons, but I have no money. Could you lend me twenty yuan, cousin? I need to buy some cloth to make clothes for my younger siblings. Oh, and my little niece too. As her uncle, you can't just watch her go hungry and freeze, can you?" Zhou Rui asked directly for money, not giving the other man a chance to speak. He was determined to follow Zhou Chen's lead and leave Zhou Chen with nowhere to go.

Zhou Chen was so frustrated by those words that he felt like his lungs were about to explode. Those were my lines! How could he be so shameless as to ask me for money? Twenty yuan? I don't even have two yuan in my pocket. How could he even ask for that?

Zhou Chen was furious, but his mind couldn't process what was happening, so he had no choice but to go back to his strategist, Qian Fulai. But Qian Fulai couldn't come up with a plan this time either. They were always the shameless ones, always setting traps with their words; they never expected Zhou Rui to turn the tables on them.

The two simpletons behind him had a better idea. They exchanged a glance, and then Chen Erbiao shouted, "Ruiwazi, you actually dared to ambush me last time!" Then the two of them pounced on him.

Zhou Rui cursed inwardly, "Two idiots, didn't they see what I'm holding?" Then he gently loosened the leash, and the four hunting dogs pounced. Gu Shaofeng's hunting dogs were no ordinary dogs; two were help dogs, fast and agile, while the two were dragging dogs, large and strong.

As soon as they were released, the four hunting dogs, baring their fangs, lunged at the four men's legs, scaring Zhou Chen and his companions into running around in panic. Even the dancers stopped and stared at them.

Zhou Rui watched with a cold laugh as the group was chased around by the dog, who kept biting his legs. He thought to himself, "These idiots! I'm carrying thousands of dollars, why would I fight you? Are you crazy? My senior's dog is much more useful. Next time, I'll bring them more jerky to build a better relationship."

While everyone was watching the commotion, Zhou Rui suddenly felt a chill run down his spine. What was going on? This was town; what danger could there be?

Zhou Rui glanced around warily. What? Nothing at all. He looked at the crowd ahead and the still-playing upbeat music.

Music…yes, music. Zhou Rui didn't remember exactly when disco entered China, but it certainly wasn't around this time. Why? Because of the Red Guards, because of the Revolutionary Committee, because this era didn't allow this kind of music and dance to be openly performed on the streets.

Zhou Rui quickly shouldered all his belongings, hurriedly hopped on his bicycle, and pedaled hard twice to reach Gu Shaofeng's side.

He threw the bag and gun at Gu Shaofeng: "Let's go, get in the car quickly."

Gu Shaofeng was watching the excitement when he suddenly felt a weight in his arms. Zhou Rui had stuffed his backpack and the Fifth and Sixth Office into his arms.

"What? What? Get on the bus?"

Zhou Rui braced himself on the bicycle with one foot and pulled Gu Shaofeng with the other, shouting loudly, "Let's go! The community security team is here."

Before Gu Shaofeng could even settle in, the bike sped off.