Rebirth in 1972: Redemption in Changbai Mountain

"You're talking nonsense!" Zhang Maixiang took half a step forward, her shoe tip almost brushing against Zhou Rui's shoe.

"My husband, Da Shuan, has always been honest and mild-mannered; you can't get him to talk back to anything. His wife is also a good homemaker; she gets up before dawn to feed the chickens and sweep the yard. What shady business could she possibly be doing?"

"It was clearly you who got him drunk and whispered bad things in his ear."

Zhou Rui tilted his head back, wiping the dampness on the tip of his nose with his fingertips, his unhurried smile still on his face.

He took a small step to the side, just enough to avoid the spittle that Zhang Maixiang was spraying at him.

"Auntie, what are you saying?" He spoke slowly and softly, but his voice was just loud enough for the onlookers to hear clearly.

"What good would it do me to speak ill of Brother Dazhu? I wouldn't get half a room in his house, nor would I get half a bag of grain from him. Is it worth the trouble?"

He paused, his gaze sweeping over the elderly men and women on the drying ground, before continuing to speak.

"You can't blame all the conflicts that happen behind closed doors on me, can you? I can't take the blame for that."

Zhang Maixiang's chest heaved violently, her back ramrod straight: "What conflicts could there be in my family?"

"My family is harmonious and peaceful, with a kind father, filial sons, and brothers working together. Who in the whole village doesn't praise us as a model family?"

"If it weren't for outsiders instigating things, how could the two brothers have ended up fighting?"

Zhou Rui's smile deepened, and his gaze calmly fell on Zhang Maixiang's face.

"Auntie, everyone in the village knows that Uncle Shoutian has always favored Brother Dashuan since we were kids."

His voice wasn't loud, but it was clear and crisp enough for everyone in the drying yard to hear.

"When we were little, we would stuff Da Shuan Ge's mouth with a piece of bread first, and give him new clothes first. But when we grew up and got married, we would find a reason to separate him from the old house."

Brother Dazhu is an honest man. He's suffered countless losses in silence over the years, but he's never told anyone. Just because he doesn't talk about it doesn't mean it never happened.

The wind swirled straw on his shoulders. He looked up at Zhang Maixiang and threw out all the things she least wanted to hear.

"The things you always talk about, like filial piety and brotherly harmony, are nothing more than you being the one mediating and maintaining this superficial family harmony."

"But this kind of family harmony can't keep letting honest Dazhu suffer.

"If this unspoken understanding isn't broken today, the rift between these two brothers will likely grow bigger and bigger, eventually leading to them never speaking to each other again, which would truly break up the family."

The villagers gathered around immediately started talking. Zhang Maixiang's face turned red and white in turns. She pointed at Zhou Rui's hand and waved it for a long time before finally managing to squeeze out a sentence.

"But they fought last night. My Dazhu has never laid a hand on his brother before."

"They fought because you said you'd help take care of the child, but Xiao Yan'er was taken by you and didn't even get a hot meal."

Zhou Rui showed Zhang Maixiang no respect whatsoever, directly puncturing the source of the conflict.

"Before leaving home, Sister Xinghua was worried that Yan'er would go hungry, so she put two boiled eggs in her pocket. As a result, they ended up in your eldest grandson's stomach, and little Yan'er could only eat raw sweet potatoes in front of the stove."

These words immediately caused a stir among the crowd, with several elderly women who had been persuaded by Zhang Maixiang feeling that the Zhao family was being dishonest.

Jiaolongxia Village has no tradition of favoring sons over daughters. The elderly in the village usually protect the children the most. Who would let their precious child suffer like this?

The granddaughter was standing by the stove eating a raw sweet potato, while the eldest grandson was next to her eating a boiled egg. This favoritism was so extreme it was almost crooked towards the old locust tree at the village entrance.

The old woman slammed the rake used for threshing rice onto the ground, her voice rising a notch: "Maixiang, how could your family do such a thing? It's not a year of famine, how could you let the child eat raw sweet potatoes?"

The old man next to him threw down his pipe: "These past few years, Dazhu and his wife have not only earned their own work points, but they also frequently fetch water and chop firewood for the old house. What chores haven't they done?"

"If word gets out that you're treating someone else's child so badly, the whole village will talk about you behind your back!"

Everyone's anger instantly turned to Zhang Maixiang, leaving her no room for pleasantries about family harmony.

Zhang Maixiang's face turned from red to green, her fingertips dug a hole in the hem of her clothes, and she froze on the spot.

She originally came today to find fault with Zhou Rui, intending to pin the blame for the fight between her brothers on him.

He could both preserve his good reputation and make Dazhu and his wife even more afraid to utter a word in the future. Little did they expect that Zhou Rui would directly expose their most shameful secret.

"I...I had something to do and didn't notice..." Zhang Maixiang was so flustered that she couldn't speak coherently.

"Didn't you notice?" Zhou Rui took a step forward, staring intently at her without showing her any mercy.

"That egg was slipped into Xiaoyan's pocket right in front of you, by Sister Xinghua. Xiaoyan was standing by the stove eating a sweet potato, didn't you see?"

His clear voice drowned out all the whispers: "Brother Dazhu has lived for over twenty years and doesn't even know how to argue with someone. If it weren't for seeing his daughter suffer this injustice, would he have hit his own brother?"

"Over the years, he was separated from his family and did all the heavy work at the old house without getting any benefits. He endured it."

"Uncle Shoutian usually favors Da Shuan. He even cut off a piece of the meat that Da Shuan received from the village and took it back with him, and Da Shuan tolerated it."

"But you even mistreat his child like this. No matter how honest he is, there will come a day when he can't take it anymore."

"You blame outsiders for stirring things up, and you blame Brother Dazhu for being immature. But it's precisely because Brother Dazhu is too mature that you all think it's right to favor the boss."

"What you want is never a harmonious family and a prosperous life; it's for everyone to follow your favoritism and praise you for managing the household well."

These words were like a fine needle, easily piercing the facade of dignity that Zhang Maixiang had maintained for over a decade.

There was a brief silence on the drying ground for two seconds, followed by an even quieter murmur.

The way people looked at her was no longer polite; it was filled with genuine disappointment.

Zhang Maixiang felt a lump in her throat, unable to swallow it, and her eyes instantly welled up with tears.

She has lived most of her life in the village and has always been a prominent figure. When has she ever had her shortcomings exposed in public like this?

She gritted her teeth and forced herself to straighten up, her voice trembling like leaves in the autumn wind: "Even if what I did was wrong... it's none of your business as an outsider!"

"I'm not meddling in your family affairs," Zhou Rui said, standing there with a frank and open tone.

"I can't stand honest people suffering losses and having to keep quiet, and I can't stand seeing close brothers being turned into enemies because of this favoritism and pride."

"A family's life depends on mutual respect and understanding, not on feigned harmony that you try to hide."

"If you go against the grain every time and keep it from us every time, over time, the grievances will accumulate and cause even the best family to fall apart."

"and……"

Zhou Rui turned around and picked up Xiao Yan'er, who was still gnawing on a bone: "Xiao Yan'er and I are godparents."

"She's my niece, and she's no different from Xiaoniangao to me."

"If anyone ever wrongs her again, I'll take him down myself without Brother Dazhu even lifting a finger."

When Xiao Yan'er heard Zhou Rui call her, she opened her mouth in confusion and then held the smooth bone to her lips.

"Second Uncle, you eat."

Zhou Rui looked at the bone, devoid of any meat, and was both amused and exasperated. He had gone to such lengths to support her, and all she gave him was a bone.