Rebirth in 1972: Redemption in Changbai Mountain

The drinking continued into the late hours of the night, and the effects of the alcohol on Zhao Dazhu and his wife had mostly worn off. They got up to retrieve Xiaoyan from the kang (a heated brick bed) and head home.

Zhou Rui raised his hand to stop them: "Don't make a fuss. This girl is sleeping soundly. If you wake her up, no one can soothe her. She can sleep at my house tonight. It's perfectly safe."

The next day at daybreak, Lin Qiuyue switched jobs with Zhou Rui for the day, letting him stay home to take care of the child and rest.

The reason is straightforward: working in the fields every day to earn twelve work points is too much even for a strong man; he must rest at home today.

Zhou Rui didn't stand on ceremony at all; he was happy that his wife was so kind to him, so he readily accepted the compliment.

After finishing their meal, they stuffed their pockets full of snacks, grabbed their two dolls, and strolled leisurely through the village with An'an.

The elderly in the village haven't been idle these past few days either. Although they haven't been working in the fields, they've been helping to turn over the grain in the drying yard so that it can be dried more thoroughly.

Now everyone is used to Zhou Rui taking care of the kids; he won't listen to anything you say, his skin is thick enough to stop a bullet.

Of course, Zhou Rui wasn't idle. He brought a slingshot, and any sparrows that tried to steal food on the threshing ground couldn't escape his methods.

Suddenly, Zhou Rui was surrounded by children, who all regarded him as the king of the village kids.

"Brother Rui, there were three sparrows that landed on the wall over there just now, and they were really fat."

"I know a big tree with a sparrow's nest. I even saw the old sparrow carrying insects back home yesterday."

Whether they were big kids or little ones, they were all chattering away, creating quite a lively scene.

An'an stood beside them, laughing and holding Xiao Niangao. Xiao Yan'er perched on Zhou Rui's shoulder, pointing her little finger at the old locust tree by the threshing ground, and mumbled, "Bird! Bird!"

Zhou Rui tried to put Xiao Yan'er on the haystack next to him, but Xiao Yan'er seemed to be comfortable on Zhou Rui and refused to get down.

Helpless, Zhou Rui had no choice but to take out the baby carrier he hadn't used in a long time and carefully tie Xiao Yan'er to his back.

"Don't rush, everyone. If anyone can keep an eye on where the sparrows land, I'll shoot them down and roast them until they're crispy and crunchy, so you can even chew on the bones."

A group of children immediately clapped their hands loudly in response, and in an instant they scattered into a small circle of sentries.

Some squatted behind the haystacks, some clung to the base of the wall, and even two half-grown boys climbed up the branches of trees, staring wide-eyed at their surroundings.

The fifth master of the Chen family, who was turning the grain next to him, straightened up, fanned himself with his straw hat, and looked at him, his beard standing on end with a smile.

"You little rascal, you've even managed to come up with new ways to take care of a kid. Be careful, or you might end up trampling my drying grain before you even catch a sparrow."

"Fifth Master, don't worry. If you mess it up, I'll flip it over three times for you later, and I guarantee it will be even more even than what you did."

Zhou Rui smiled and raised the slingshot in his hand. He glanced at the corner of the drying ground and the pebble he was holding flew out with a whoosh.

The fat sparrow pecking at the grain on the haystack didn't even flutter before falling straight down.

The surrounding children erupted in a deafening cheer. The little one who was closest scrambled over to pick it up, then hopped into the air with the sparrow in his hand, his face turning bright red.

Before long, five or six sparrows had gathered at Zhou Rui's feet, and more and more children were crowding around.

Even the little girl who was playing jump rope in the distance came over, her eyes sparkling as she stared at the slingshot in his hand.

After shooting down about ten, a few eleven or twelve-year-old kids gathered some dry branches and, under the adults' supervision, built a fire.

Before long, the aroma of roasted meat mixed with the smell of smoke filled the entire drying area.

Zhou Rui picked out the biggest and fattest one and handed it to An An first.

Then he tore off the tenderest breast meat, blew on it to cool it down, and fed it to Xiaoyan'er and Xiaoniangao. The two little kids ate it with gusto, their faces covered in oil.

Zhou Rui never got to do the work of cleaning up the sparrows or roasting them; more and more teenagers brought the sparrows here themselves, shooting them down with slingshots.

Even Zhou Ping, Xiao Huai Shu, Liu Ping An, and other young men who usually worked in the fields with him gathered around the fire to join in the fun.

Just as the little ones were gnawing on roasted sparrows, their faces glistening with oil, Zhao Dazhu's mother, Zhang Maixiang, arrived.

She wasn't carrying any weapons, but she walked quickly, her face displaying an unusually fierce expression.

The crowd around the bonfire was separated, and the lively atmosphere suddenly became mixed with something else, and the voices gradually quieted down.

Zhou Rui paused in his tearing of the meat and turned to look outside.

"Ruiwa, I used to think you were a kind and honest person because you were close to Dazhu and treated Yan'er very well. I never expected you to be this kind of person behind my back."

Zhang Maixiang was known in the village as a kind-hearted person. She was small in stature and always spoke in a gentle and mild manner.

These words, though not explicitly insulting, carry a heavier weight of accusation than anything else in the ears of others.

"Aunt Maixiang, please explain yourself clearly. What heinous thing have I, Zhou Rui, done?"

When Zhou Rui saw Aunt Zhao coming toward him, he knew she had something to say, so he tore the sparrow in half and let Xiao Niangao and Xiao Yan'er eat it themselves.

Other elderly people on the threshing ground also looked over, wondering what kind of conflict could have arisen between these two people who were usually so amiable.

Zhang Maixiang's good temper was known throughout the village, and Zhou Rui, besides being straightforward and honest, had never done anything outrageous. Everyone quickly came up to mediate.

"Zhao family's daughter-in-law, are you sure you're not mistaken? Ruiwazi isn't the kind of person who would do bad things."

"Old Zhao's family, is there some misunderstanding? Speak slowly, don't rush."

"Dazhu's mother, Zhou Rui is either working to earn work points or taking his kids around the village. We old folks watch him every day, so he doesn't have time to do anything else."

In the eyes of the older generation in the village, Zhou Rui has always been a reliable person.

In particular, he would carry the baby around the village every day, and if any little child came up to him, he could give them a piece of candy. He was incredibly kind.

"There's no misunderstanding. Zhou Rui was secretly sowing discord between Da Shuan and Da Zhu, making the two brothers estranged."

"Moreover, Dazhu drank at Zhou Rui's house last night, and when he returned to the old house, he got into a fight with Dashuan."

"If you hadn't said something behind my back, how could my Dazhu have turned out like this?"

"There's no misunderstanding!" Zhang Maixiang's voice suddenly rose half an octave, and her eyes were a little red.

"Zhou Rui, you secretly sowed discord between Da Shuan and Da Zhu, who are brothers, and fed Da Zhu fallacies, causing the two brothers to become estranged like enemies."

"Last night, after Dazhu finished drinking at your house, he went back to the old house and got into a fight with Dashuan. The two brothers' faces were swollen from the fight."

"If it weren't for your gossiping and instigating behind my back, how could my usually honest Dazhu have dared to lay a hand on his older brother?"

Instead of getting anxious after hearing this, Zhou Rui took out a handkerchief and wiped the oil off his hands.

"Aunt Maixiang, don't be so quick to label me." His voice wasn't loud, but it clearly reached everyone around him.

"It wasn't my fault that Brother Dazhu and Brother Dashuan's brotherly relationship fell apart; it was caused by your family's constant favoritism."

"The fight between Brother Dazhu and Brother Dashuan wasn't something I instigated; it was Luo Sujuan who did it. No one could tolerate that."