Rebirth in 1972: Redemption in Changbai Mountain

Zhou Rui stared at the old turtle floating on the water, his hands stiffening.

The rod was bent so low it was about to break, but the thing underwater was still paddling slowly, completely unperturbed, as if it had caught Zhou Rui.

"A turtle...a turtle?" An'an came closer, her little face half curious and half bewildered. She had never seen anyone catch such a thing with a fishing rod before.

The little gosling stood on the bank, pointing her tiny finger at the water, and called out in her childish voice, "Fish...fish."

"It's not a fish, it's a turtle." Zhou Rui's lips twitched; he wanted to let go but couldn't bear to.

I wanted to pull it up, but then I felt like I was there to fish, and fishing for turtles seemed a bit of a frivolous thing to do.

Daya gently placed the small rice cake on the ground and casually pulled a thick reed from the reeds and handed it over.

"Cousin, don't pull it too hard. Slowly walk it to the shore. I'll pry open its back shell; it can't bite you from there."

Zhou Rui slowly reeled in the line as instructed. The turtle didn't struggle and just floated over to the surface of the water. Its palm-sized shell was covered with some green moss, and it looked to weigh at least three or four pounds.

Daya squatted down, her fingers swiftly scooping up the big guy from both sides of its hind legs, and she lifted it up steadily.

The turtle thrashed about with its limbs and stretched its neck as far as it could, but it still couldn't reach the person.

"Goodness, this thing is very precious." Da Ya's eyes lit up.

"Last time the supply and marketing cooperative bought these, they gave 50 cents per pound. This one is so big, it can be exchanged for two or three pounds of flour, and it can also be exchanged for a pound of fruit candy for the little rice cake."

Zhou Rui didn't think much of what Da Ya said, after all, the black market price was much higher than the supply and marketing cooperative's purchase price.

He stuck his fishing rod into the ground, deliberately putting on a nonchalant air.

"No wonder it hadn't bitten for so long. Turns out this big guy chased all the fish away. Fine, consider it delivered itself to my doorstep today."

They stayed by the pond for almost two more hours before heading back as the sun set.

Both buckets were full, and water kept spilling out.

"Sister Daya, you're here." As soon as he entered the courtyard, Zhou Ping rushed over and took the sleepy little Yan'er from Daya's arms.

The two babies are at the age where they are growing in weight, and it is not easy for Daya to carry both of them by herself.

"Cousin, Second Sister-in-law." Daya's voice was crisp and clear, a far cry from her previous self who would cower in a corner, too afraid to even lift her head.

The wind and sun in the forest farm actually wore away her introverted and timid nature, and she exuded a bright and cheerful aura.

"Please sit down, please sit down. Have some tea to catch your breath." Lin Qiuyue smiled and took the little rice cake from the baby, wiping the grass clippings off the baby's face with her fingertips.

"How did things go today? Let me see what delicious dishes I can cook for Daya tonight."

"Hey, it's nothing, just caught some fish," Zhou Rui said in a muffled voice, without the slightest hint of joy at having caught something.

Lin Qiuyue glanced at him sideways, and as she turned to go into the kitchen, she quietly tugged at Daya's sleeve.

"What's wrong with your cousin? His face is as long as a donkey's."

"My cousin caught three turtles. He also caught a lot of crayfish with eggs, but he threw them back into the water. The key thing is, he didn't catch a single decent fish."

Da Ya covered her mouth and laughed. The two whispered to each other by the stove, and Lin Qiuyue listened with a smile.

She understood Zhou Rui's thoughts all too well. He was obsessed with fishing, but whenever An'an joined in the fun, he was guaranteed to catch nothing.

This minor frustration didn't last long. Zhou Rui glanced at Daya's still-slender body, which hadn't fully grown up yet, and then took the biggest turtle to the kitchen to simmer it over low heat until it turned into a milky white soup.

He didn't plan to send the remaining two to the supply and marketing cooperative. These rare items were better left for Daya to take back to the forest farm and distribute to her colleagues; they were much more useful than selling them for a few dollars.

Fresh aromas wafted from Zhou Rui's stove, while Zhou Jiutian's house at the west end of the village was unusually quiet, creating an eerie atmosphere.

"Mom, I just heard from Sister Luhua at the village entrance that she saw Gao Jia Daya come to the village." Tian Xiuying leaned closer to Zhao Xiumei, and surprisingly, she managed a smile.

"Who? Daya? Gao Daya?" Zhao Xiumei was stunned for a long time before she finally managed to pull the name out of her dazed mind.

"It's her." Tian Xiuying's eyes shone brightly, as if they were bathed in light.

"They're dressed in neat forestry work clothes, carrying net bags full of stuff; they've clearly brought a lot of good stuff. Mom, where's the stuff?"

"Things? She didn't even step on our doorstep." Zhao Xiumei's cloudy eyes finally moved as she looked at Tian Xiuying.

Tian Xiuying stared at her face for a long time, and when she was sure that she wasn't lying, her excitement instantly turned sour.

"Then what did she come back to the village for? Why didn't she visit her own grandmother, or even her own uncle's house?"

She turned and glared at Zhou Dashan, her voice suddenly rising: "Where do you think she could have run off to!"

"No need to ask, they must have gone to Zhou Rui's house," Zhou Dashan said in a muffled voice, his nose stuffed with sweat.

"Why should I?!" Tian Xiuying's shrill voice almost shook the roof beams down.

"Da Ya is the granddaughter of our Zhou family, your own nephew. Instead of visiting her maternal grandmother and maternal uncle's family, she's going to her cousin's house. Is that acceptable to outsiders?"

If outsiders heard this, they would surely think that Tian Xiuying dotes on her niece.

But everyone knows that she wasn't upset that Daya didn't come to see her; she was upset about the bag full of gifts.

In her mind, all these good things should have been given to her maternal grandparents and her maternal uncle.

Zhou Jiutian squatted on the threshold, puffing away on his pipe, the flickering embers casting an indistinct glow on his wrinkled, bark-like face.

He exhaled a puff of spicy smoke, his voice deep: "Stop arguing."

"I heard from someone a while ago that Da Ya got a permanent job at the forest farm, which Zhou Rui arranged through someone. She came back to the village specifically to express her gratitude."

Zhou Dashan, Tian Xiuying, and Zhao Xiumei all turned to stare at him, their eyes wide open.

No one expected that the old man, who usually squatted quietly to the side, was hiding such big news.

"What, what formal employee?" Zhou Dashan stammered, thinking he had gone deaf from the smoke.

Tian Xiuying stared at her father-in-law expectantly, hoping that he would shake his head and say it was a joke.

"Hmm." Zhou Jiutian simply nodded slowly, the gesture was small, and his voice was soft.

To Tian Xiuying, it sounded like a muffled thunderclap, shattering her little dream of taking advantage of others.

"I...I'll go find him."

A sudden surge of anger rose in Tian Xiuying's heart. She slammed her hand on the kang table, stood up, and shouted loudly.

"That traitorous brat. He won't give the proper job to his brother, but instead gives it to some random girl from out of town."

Tian Xiuying was no longer upset about the gift Da Ya brought; she was more upset about the job.

That's a permanent position at the forest farm; countless people would kill for it.