Rebirth in 1972: Redemption in Changbai Mountain

When the two left Zhao Youzhi's house, the mountain fog had already rolled in late at night, and a cool mist crept into their collars.

Chen Datou subconsciously moved closer to Zeng Ping, trying to shield her from the wind. After a long pause, he finally pulled out the polished silver bracelet from his pocket and handed it to her.

"Zhou Rui found this for me, saying it's genuine old silver and won't hurt your hands."

His voice was softer than the mountain mist: "I know I'm poor and can't give you mountains of gold and silver, but from now on, I, Chen Datou, will do everything in my power to make sure you and the children have hot meals."

Zeng Ping looked down at the silver bracelet. The moonlight fell on the polished edge, creating a small patch of gentle moonlight.

She reached out her hand, saying nothing, but letting Chen Datou clumsily slip the bracelet onto her wrist. The cool silver against her skin strangely warmed her.

The next day, at the first crow of the rooster, the two hurried towards town in the dark.

Chen Datou borrowed Zhou Rui's old bicycle and even put half an old cotton-padded jacket on the seat so that Zeng Ping wouldn't feel uncomfortable sitting on it.

He held the handlebars more firmly than anything else, and when crossing potholes in the paddy fields, he was even a beat slower than usual.

When they received the red booklet, the two stared at the national emblem on the cover for a long time. Chen Datou's fingers brushed against the gold-embossed words, and his eyes even became a little hot.

That day, the two of them made a special trip to Wulipu to ask Sun Houde for two days off for Zhao Gensheng and bring him home to stay for a few days.

"Xiao Ni, stew that big bone until it's soft, otherwise the little rice cakes won't be able to chew it."

In Chen Datou's kitchen, Zeng Ping was directing Chen Xiaoni to help.

Yes, from today onwards, Gensheng and Xiaoni will have the surname Chen, and will have no further connection with the Zhao family.

Chen Xiaoni didn't seem to be particularly opposed to or concerned about this matter; she was more interested in her new jacket and the large bone in her hand.

Chen Gensheng, who had just returned, did not show any emotion about Zeng Ping marrying Chen Datou, but he was a little puzzled by the change of residence.

He was fiddling with a wooden house in his hand, a small two-story structure, more exquisite than the mud houses he used to live in.

"Wash that drain thoroughly, otherwise it will smell."

Zeng Ping's face was beaming with delight as she turned the fatty meat in the pan with a spatula. She and Chen Datou had gotten up early that morning to buy it from the pork stall.

The aroma of oil wafting from the pan made Zhao Xiaoni pause in her vegetable-washing routine.

"Don't be greedy, you and your brother will have a taste as soon as it's cooked."

Just as dusk was falling in the afternoon, Zhou Rui and his family went out, carrying a basket covered with a piece of cloth.

At this time, everyone was cooking, and no one was loitering outside.

The wind outside was particularly strong, bringing with it a large amount of cold air from the north.

Next to Zeng Ping's old house, two aunties were whispering to each other across a sled.

"Hey, what's wrong with Widow Zhao? It looks like she hasn't lit a fire in her house all day."

"No problem, I bet it's just another lover bringing food over at night."

"With her seductive looks, the moment she spreads her legs, meat naturally falls into her belly."

"That still doesn't seem right. I haven't seen her daughter today either. Do you think she took her daughter back to her parents' house?"

"Her maternal home? Does she even have a maternal home?"

"With such a bad reputation, she'd be beaten out of her parents' home by her brothers."

Zhou Rui led the way to Chen Datou's house, and An'an skipped and hopped ahead as she pushed open the gate.

"The house is a bit small." This was the first time Lin Qiuyue had seen Chen Datou's house. It was just one room and a kitchen, nothing else.

"Don't worry, you can make money from gathering herbs, and you can build a new one in the next year or the year after." Zhou Rui was very clear about the profits from herbs.

Since he found such a way for Chen Datou, he naturally wanted him to make a fortune; otherwise, he would be letting down Chen Datou for saving his younger brother and sister's lives.

An'an's loud opening of the door startled Zeng Ping, who was peeking out of the kitchen. When she saw it was Zhou Rui's family, she slammed the spatula against the edge of the pot and quickly wiped her oily hands on her apron.

"Come in, come in! We've been waiting for you!"

The joy on her face hadn't faded yet when the silver bracelet on her wrist swayed with her movement, leaving a thin, bright streak in the firelight of the stove.

Chen Datou had just straightened up from the woodpile, still holding half a bundle of dry pine branches in his arms, when he saw Zhou Rui come in, a simple and honest smile immediately appeared on his dark face.

He rubbed his hands vigorously on his trouser leg a couple of times before going up to her: "Why did you bring something? I just started stewing the bones, and I was just about to have Zeng Ping call you two later."

Zhou Rui placed the basket covered with a piece of cloth on the table, lifted the corner of the cloth to reveal half a basket of eggs, a piece of smoked meat tied with straw rope, and two bottles of Xinghuacun wine.

"Today is a special day for you two, I can't come empty-handed."

"From now on, when you and Xiaohua go into the mountains to collect herbs, you'll finally be able to have a hot meal when you come back."

Lin Qiuyue pulled An'an closer to the stove. The fatty meat in the pot was slowly simmering over a low flame, with golden oil bubbles rising to the surface and the aroma of oil and heat filling their nostrils.

An'an clutched her clothes, her eyes fixed on the oil residue in the pot that was slowly shrinking into a golden brown color, her mouth watering.

"Auntie, this fried pork fat smells even better than the roasted melon seeds we had last time," An'an sniffed and said crisply.

Zeng Ping laughed out loud at her joke, and reached out to scoop up the crispiest piece of fried pork fat and put it in An An's palm.

"You're so sweet-talking. Here's the first bite. Let it cool for two seconds before you bite, or you'll burn yourself and stomp your feet."

"Mom..." Zhao Xiaoni called out from the side, sounding aggrieved.

We agreed that the first piece would be given to her first, but a customer came in, so the first piece was given to someone else first.

Zeng Ping turned around and saw Chen Xiaoni pouting, her fingertips still wet with the water from washing vegetables, and her eyes already glistening with a thin layer of moisture, like a little animal whose candy had been stolen.

Her heart softened completely, and she used her other hand to scoop up a piece of fried dough covered with fine sesame seeds and held it to Xiao Ni's mouth, gently stroking her red, frozen nose with her fingertips.

"Look at you, you little jealous devil! How could your mother forget you?"

Zeng Ping's voice was soft and warm, carrying the scent of the stove fire: "This piece was specially reserved for you. It has even more sesame seeds than An An's. It smells so good it could attract all the rabbits from the back mountain."

Chen Xiaoni's face instantly brightened, and she opened her mouth to put the fried pork cracklings into her mouth.

The crisp, caramelized aroma exploded on her tongue. She laughed indistinctly with something in her mouth, her cheeks puffed out as if she had two roasted soybeans stuffed inside.

Hearing the commotion in the kitchen from the main room, Chen Datou scratched the back of his head and chuckled. He then turned around, took out something wrapped tightly in old newspapers from the cabinet, and handed it to Zhou Rui.

The cardboard was worn and frayed, and the edges were darkened by sweat.

"What good stuff is it that's hidden so well?"

Zhou Rui raised an eyebrow, reached out and untied it. Inside were more than twenty dried mushrooms strung together with thin hemp rope. Each one was perfectly round and thick, with no wormholes on the cap.

"I found these in the crevices of the rocks on the back mountain for the first half of the month. They're the most precious kind of morel mushrooms." Chen Datou's voice carried a hint of embarrassment and seriousness.

"I know you've seen plenty of good things, but these are things I painstakingly dug out one by one from the edge of a cliff."

"After three days of sunshine, stewing chicken for your An'an is the most nourishing thing, better than any tonic."

Zhou Rui weighed the bunch of mushrooms in his hand, his fingertips able to feel the hardened texture of the caps from the sun, and suddenly felt a warmth in his heart.

He knew all too well how hard it was to find morel mushrooms in the mountains, where they grew in shady, dangerous places, and one could easily slip and tumble down the hillside if one wasn't careful.

He didn't refuse, and patted Chen Datou on the shoulder: "Alright, I'll accept this gift. Come with me into the mountains early in a few days, and I'll explain all the ways to identify medicinal herbs to you."

"You can pinpoint the exact location of Bupleurum chinense on a slope and Astragalus membranaceus in a gully after six months, even with your eyes closed."