Rebirth in 1972: Redemption in Changbai Mountain

Inside the inner room, Chen Gensheng was still fiddling with the small wooden house in his hands, his fingertips tracing the smooth wooden railings.

Hearing laughter coming from the kitchen, he lifted the curtain and peeked into the bustling crowd.

He had never smelled such a strong aroma of meat before when he lived in the Zhao family, nor had he ever seen a room full of people gathered together, all with undisguised smiles on their faces.

But what he cared about most was the chubby little girl, chewing on fried dough sticks with sesame seeds on her lips.

"An'an, come here."

With half a piece of fried dough stick dangling from her mouth, her cheeks puffed out like they were stuffed with a small walnut, An'an's eyes lit up at the sound, and she ran into the inner room with her short legs.

"Brother Gensheng, did you call me? Where have you been? You haven't come to play with me for so long." An'an looked up with her little face, a little bit of stove ash still stuck on the tip of her nose, like a small mole.

Chen Gensheng's Adam's apple bobbed, and he handed the small wooden house in his hand forward.

The house was exquisitely crafted, with a wooden threshold worn smooth and several strings of dried corn carved under the eaves.

"Here you go." He didn't answer where he went, seemingly a little slow to react.

An'an's eyes widened instantly, and she carefully reached out her two little hands to take it.

My fingertips touched the smooth wooden railing, and I brought it to my nose to smell it; it was filled with a faint scent of pine.

Chen Gensheng used to make mud houses, which couldn't be taken with him. Now, with this wooden house, he can take it out and play with it anytime.

She hugged the little house tightly in her arms, as if it were some rare treasure, and then turned and called out to the kitchen.

"Second brother, second sister-in-law. Look! The little house that Brother Gensheng made for me has a door, windows, and even my little balcony."

Lin Qiuyue was adding firewood to the stove when she heard the sound and poked her head out. She smiled when she saw the exquisite wooden house.

"Gensheng is so skillful; this is even better than the foreign toys sold in the town's general store."

Zhou Rui leaned over for a couple of glances, then slapped his thigh and exclaimed.

"My goodness, this skill is amazing. From now on, all the mushrooms we pick in the mountains can be dried on the windowsill of this little house. They're more precious than our bamboo sieve."

Chen Gensheng stood there, watching a room full of people laughing around the little house in An'an's hand. Even his wooden eyes seemed to have become more lively than before.

Before, he had no one to talk to at home. Chen Xiaoni had to get up from the field as soon as she could reach the pig feed basket, and no one paid attention to him, let alone so many people praising his work.

Zeng Ping secretly wiped her eyes in the corner and pulled Chen Xiaoni closer to her.

The son has a skill, and she has a new home.

We should send the little girl to school to learn to write so that she can find a good family in the future.

"House, Gao Gao, Gao Gao wants it." The little Gao Gao in Zhou Rui's arms bounced around, a little unhappy.

She didn't get any of those big pieces of oil residue, and now she can't even play with a small toy.

When Chen Gensheng heard Xiao Niangao calling for a house in her childish voice, he paused for two seconds, then turned around and went into the inner room, returning with a small trinket.

It was a small wooden cart, a size smaller than the house in An'an's hand, with perfectly round wheels that spun around when pushed.

These little trinkets were all carved by him himself while his master was resting, using collected wood, including some small animals he carved for his sister.

"Here you go." He handed the cart to Xiao Nian Gao: "The wheels won't get stuck, you can push it."

Little Rice Cake immediately stopped crying, grabbed the stroller with its chubby paws, put it on the ground, and pushed it across the muddy floor of the main room.

The little boy's short legs swayed with the wheels, and he made a "woo-woo" sound, mimicking the running of a horse-drawn carriage, which made everyone in the room laugh.

"Come on, I wish Uncle Big Head and Auntie a prosperous life, and that they will build three more big brick houses in the future, and have a happy and fulfilling marriage."

Zhou Rui poured wine for all the adults, and even poured half a bowl for his third brother, Zhou Ping.

Chen Datou blushed deeply at these words. His rough hands gripped the rim of the wine bowl, and he hurriedly picked it up and handed it to Zhou Rui. The rim of the bowl made a soft clattering sound.

"What 'happy marriage'? I'm just a lazy bum from the village. I'm already incredibly lucky to have married someone as wonderful as Zeng Ping."

His voice trembled slightly as his eyes swept over Zeng Ping, who was wiping the grease from Xiao Ni's lips. The silver bracelet on her wrist gleamed softly in the stove fire.

"From now on, I have only one thought: to work my ass off to collect herbs and earn money so that these two children can eat rice every day and so that Zeng Ping will never have to suffer from those gossips again."

Zeng Ping looked up and met his gaze, unable to suppress the smile on her lips.

She picked up her own bowl of wine and gently clinked it against his. The sweet aroma of the wine wafted up, warming her to the point that her nose felt tingly.

Zhou Ping held the half-bowl of wine, his cheeks flushed.

Last year, Chen Datou had pulled him out of the pond. Now, he tilted his head back and downed most of half a bowl of wine, coughing and choking, but still managed to shout, "Uncle Datou, I'll help you when we go into the mountains from now on. I have a gun, I can protect your safety."

"What are you doing getting involved, you little brat? Go to school and focus on your studies." Zhou Rui chuckled and patted the back of his head.

But he turned to Chen Datou and said, "Pingwa is telling the truth. It's still a bit dangerous in these mountains. I'll take you to the black market sometime and you can buy a gun to carry with you."

Chen Xiaoni picked up the bone broth, took a sip, glanced at everyone around her, and then secretly looked at Chen Datou.

Having a stepfather like this might not be so bad in the future; at least he dares to say in front of everyone that he will provide her and her brother with enough to eat.

Chen Datou's family didn't have much food, but the steaming bowls of food were intoxicating to everyone.

The next morning, Zhou Rui was still sleeping soundly with Xiao Niangao in his arms when Lin Qiuyue woke him up.

"Wife, let me sleep a little longer." He had long since gotten used to calling his wife that in private.

However, in front of Yu Sitian and the others, he still called her Qiuyue, for fear that Lin Qiuyue was too shy and would be embarrassed by others' teasing.

"Get up. Sitian and Hewei didn't gather much firewood yesterday, so take them with you today."

Although Lin Qiuyue had moved out of the educated youth dormitory, Yu Sitian was her good friend, and she couldn't bear to see them without firewood in their kang (heated brick bed) during the winter.

Zhou Rui groggily opened his eyes, rubbed them, and muttered, "Isn't Yang Ping, that gluttonous girl, here? With her around, how could Si Tian and the others lack good, dry wood?"

Lin Qiuyue reached out and grabbed his ear, glaring at him angrily: "What do you mean, 'greedy girl'? Yang Ping gets good grades and works hard, you're not allowed to talk about her like that."

"Besides, she went back to the provincial capital yesterday and won't be back until after the New Year."

Zhou Rui instantly sobered up a bit, secretly wondering why Yang Ping wasn't craving food anymore, since she was always the most eager to grab meat whenever she came to freeload.

But with his wife holding his ear, he didn't dare utter a single word of rebuttal.

"I'll get up now." He said, bringing his face closer to Lin Qiuyue and pouting. "But you have to give me a reward for getting up."

Lin Qiuyue's face flushed red to her ears, and she quickly glanced at Xiao Niangao, who was still snoring softly beside her.

She tiptoed and gave him a light peck on the lips, then turned and ran blushing toward the kitchen, her footsteps sounding a little flustered.